Domino announces 27% sales decline for start of year

Sales for the international group in local currencies dropped 27% compared to the same period a year before. In this morning’s statement, chairman Peter Byrom said: “Volume declines have been across the entire global sales network, except in those divisions where a particularly large contract has been won.”

In the interim management statement published this morning, the Cambridge-based firm said that 20 redundancies had been made in the first four months of its financial year, which began on 1 November, on top of the 200 redundancies announced at the end of October.

Temporary shutdowns by many customers over the Christmas and New Year period hit sales of fluids and consumables, which fell by 12% year-on-year.

However, Byrom said that the company’s spares, maintenance and services division had maintained previous levels of business as users of Domino equipment opted to keep older kit running rather than replace it.

The weak pound has, however, helped Domino’s figures, as it reported total overall sales in the period down just 1% compared to the same period a year earlier.

The figures come after Domino has put into place a series of cost-cutting measures. It has relocated its two assembly facilities in California and Denmark to its main site in the UK, and moved manufacturing of its PAT range of fume extraction equipment from Canada to its main Purex facility in Rotherham, UK.

Byrom said that although the economic outlook was uncertain, the company’s response to the current market conditions made management “confident in the long-term prospects for the group”.