Upholstery, beds and occasional furniture manufacturer Furmanac saw a financial loss after a major drop in sales in its past financial year.
For the year ended 39 June 2020, sales dropped from £12.2m to £9.59m.
An operating profit of £1.142m became a loss of £239,031. A pre-tax profit of £411,611 became a loss of £474,506.
During the year remuneration to the company’s directors – John and Gee Hilliard – dropped from £80,689 to £18,447 but shareholder dividends increased from £43,558 to £73,119.
The accounts make no mention of the impact of the pandemic, which would have hit performance towards the end of its financial year, despite being completed last November but not filled with Companies House until the end of June.
‘The principal activity of the business remains that of quality manufacture of adjustable beds, upholstered bedsteads, divans, mattresses and motion chairs with new innovations being added to the existing models under the established brand names of MiBed, MiChair and Hestia. New ranges of products have introduced to include the MiSofa collection of sofa beds and occasional furniture to accompany the bed ranges. Furmanac maintains its top position in the adjustable bed Industry in the UK,’ says the strategic report.
‘The in-house research & development team continuously focus on the enhancement of the existing products and the introduction of new products to stay ahead of competition and to build continuous customer loyalty. The experienced sales and marketing team work closely with existing and new customers in maintaining good sales levels and satisfactory gross margins. There were several new customers who were in the pipeline at the end of the year, who have now become active after the 30 June 2020 year end.
‘Throughout the year the company has been working on good margin business and have rationalised the overhead costs, by improving on existing methods and the introduction of advanced work practices. Like many businesses in the UK, the economic climate and uncertainties over Brexit has had an impact on the thinking of the owner directors of the business to structure the organisation to be least affected by external factors. To this end production techniques [have] been continuously improved. Newer composition of raw materials and components have been introduced to stabilise the margin on sales, despite the increase in the costs of raw materials. As part of company policy, emphasis is on quality margin business, to match the innovative product range and enhanced service offered.
The director shareholders manage the business on a hands-on basis and work with an expert finance team on a regular basis to review
‘The directors are confident that the business performance is improving on daily basis and have a solid planning and control system which has enabled the business to be steered in their right direction, increasing its strength as a company from one year to the next. The board of directors are supported by a highly motivated and loyal management team, making Furmanac a dominating force and one of the leading companies in the British furniture industry.’
