JW Filshill saw turnover increase up by 4.4% to £200m from £191m for the year ending January 31, 2022. It also saw its saw operating profits rise from by £0.4m to £2.7m.
The Scottish wholesaler also recorded gross profit of £17m, while net assets grew to £17.1m compared to £15.2m the previous year, an increase of 12.6%.
Keith Geddes, chief financial and operating officer, said that while sales and operations during the year were once again heavily impacted by the ongoing pandemic, tight controls and efforts by the Filshill team “minimised disruption and helped us continue to grow the business and deliver a high level of service to our customers”.
Read more: JW Filshill continues expansion strategy with Iain Hill acquisition
The company, which last month ramped up investment ahead of its move to its new distribution centre in early 2023 with the acquisition of the independent Iain Hill Ltd wholesale business, located just a few miles away in Linwood, recorded gross profit of 8.5% during the year.
Mr Geddes, pointing to recent rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis – in particular increases in the cost of fuel and food and drink – noted: “This causes uncertainty for the group, our staff, and our customers and suppliers.
Alluding to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, he said: “Operating costs remained inflated due to the increased provision of PPE, increased cleaning resource and implementation of social distancing where required.
“However, the directors are pleased with the company performance and are confident that profits will continue at a satisfactory level going forward.”
He cautioned that the group remained exposed to various financial and non-financial risks, including a highly competitive independent retail market and the risk of debts becoming irrecoverable. “The group operates tight credit control processes and has entered credit insurance arrangements for certain key balances,” Mr Geddes noted.
Addressing supply issues, he added: “Industry-wide supply issues have been a challenge. However, to offset this the group works hard to maintain strong partnership-based relationships with all suppliers and we were recently ranked number one by suppliers in an independent survey by The Advantage Group across our key competitors all over the UK for the twelfth consecutive year.”
