Member Article

Cumbrian paper poppy producer’s profit doubles

Kendal’s James Cropper, who produce the paper for Armistice day poppies, have seen their profit double.

The sixth generation family business started in 1845 and creates paper products supporting many industries from digital imaging to aerospace.

One of their contracts is the production of the paper for the Poppy Appeal which they have been doing since 1978.

Profit before tax for the last 6 months up to September 2014 was £1.2 million, double that of the same time period last year.

This is despite group revenue for the half year being down 5% on the comparable period.

They attribute this to a lower volume of sales in the first half of the year being countered by lower input costs and an enhanced mixture of products.

They also praised the restructure that they have had, with a new executive team in place.

Within their technical fibre products division work has started on a third manufacturing line in Burneside which aims to double their capacity.

The company says that the investment is key to supporting a customer base growth and creating further capacity to support their growth plans over the coming years.

Mark Cropper, chairman said, “It is anticipated that the Group will continue to operate in line with the Board’s expectations and our ambitions beyond the immediate future remain significant.

“I am very pleased with the changes we have made to our team and organisational structure in recent months and years.

“This is allowing us to better exploit the Group’s growth potential and as such I am confident that we are on track to deliver improved returns in the future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .