Profit growth for advanced materials business Low & Bonar PLC

International performance materials group Low & Bonar PLC saw an uptick in profits and revenues in 2017.

In its unaudited results for the 12 months to November 30, the London-headquartered group reported a pre-tax profit of £30.7m against revenues of £446.5m.

In comparison, Low & Bonar’s profit before tax the year previous stood at £29.2m and revenue at £400.0m.

The company’s net debt continued to grow however, increasing by £27.4m over the year to £138.4m.

Low & Bonar PLC manufactures advanced, high-performance materials from polymer-based yarns and fibres.

The group comprises four core businesses – building and industrial (B&I), interiors and transportation (I&T), civil engineering, and coated technical textiles (CTT).

This year, Low & Bonar completed a £26m investment in one of its manufacturing sites in Changzhou, China, to tap into growth opportunities for its I&T and B&I divisions.

Chairman Martin Flower said the firm achieved “strong sales growth” in 2017 despite what he called a “generally difficult market backdrop”.

He commented: “The profit performance across our four global business units was mixed, with profit growth in B&I and I&T offset by a significant reduction in profitability in Civil Engineering and a lower than anticipated performance in CTT.

“We develop and apply some of the world’s most advanced fabric technologies and we do so whilst keeping close to our customers and anticipating their requirements.”

Mr Flower continued: “This makes us well positioned to realise opportunities for profitable growth. 2018 presents both challenges and opportunities for Low & Bonar, as we work to determine the future strategy of the civil engineering business, deliver performance improvement at CTT, whilst continuing to support the growth strategies of our strong B&I and I&T businesses.

“We are confident of making further progress this year across all these areas.”