Ribble Cycles has undergone a restructure in an attempt to wipe out the £5m losses it suffered during its latest financial year.

The Preston-headquartered company said the 12 months to November 6, 2022, had been challenging because of supply chain disruption and the uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

The business added that it also had to deal with an increase in costs and customers losing confidence because of uncertainty around delivery dates.

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However, Ribble Cycles added that it has "worked hard" in its new financial year to improve its performance and is aiming to get back to making a profit.

The company, which has showrooms in Lancashire, Kent, Birmingham and Bristol, has posted a turnover of £26m for its latest financial year, down from £27m, while its pre-tax losses widened from £312,579 to £5m.

According to newly-filed documents with Companies House, the average number of people employed by the business increased from 195 to 234 during the year.

A statement signed off by the board said: "The challenges the business faced in the latter part of FY21 from supply chain disruption and uncertainty of lead times for inbound supply post-Covid and Brexit continued throughout FY22.

"As a consequence, FY22 proved to be a challenging year and this is reflected in weaker sales performance, with customer confidence and therefore conversion negatively impacted by long lead times on bike availability and further uncertainty around delivery dates as well as the impact of the wider macro-economic issues on general consumer confidence and disposable income.

"Turnover declined by £1m in FY22 to £26m and gross profit declined by £1.5m to £9m as a consequence of the full cost and operational inefficiency impact of the significant supply chain challenges.

"The decline in gross profit flowed through to overall profitability along with increased operating costs the business incurred to manage the challenges and as a result the company delivered an operating loss of £5m for the year."

On its future outlook, the company added: "The company has worked hard in FY23 to significantly improve the performance of the business.

"Supply chain predictability and availability is in a much better position in FY23 and the business is now in a position to offer robust delivery dates for customers and thereby rebuild confidence.

"At the half-year point in FY23 the business has seen strong volume growth in demand of 10%.

"Macro-economic challenges for the consumer continue to hold pricing down but it is encouraging to see the significant improvement in unit sales performance.

"The business has gone through a period of restructure to right-size and operate at an efficient and economic manufacturing level and thereby reverse the losses seen in FY22 and get back to profit for the future.

"In addition, the business continues to invest in its systems, infrastructure and operational functions to support the drive for efficient profitable growth."

In its new financial year, the company received additional funding from True Capital III LP.