Bathroom pod specialist Walker Modular saw sales fall by almost a third as coronavirus hit production and the ability to deliver to construction sites.
The Hull-based firm has reported a huge drop in turnover in the year to March 31, 2021 - 12 months beset by the biggest challenges faced by a generation.
Revenues fell from £68.4 million to £46.3 million, with headcount also vastly reduced to weather the storm. Employee numbers fell from 457 to 375 across sites in Marfleet Avenue, Westmoreland Street, Amsterdam Road and Hedon Road.
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The 16-year-old firm maintained an operating profit, but at less than a tenth of that seen in 2019/20 as earnings dropped from £4.9 million to £410,000.
Entering the pandemic with a 10 per cent drop in sales as Brexit uncertainty saw big investments held back, the supplier to blue-chip developers in multiple unit markets such as hotels, hospitals and prisons, was plunged into taking significant action.
In his strategic report accompanying the results, Malcolm Walker, director, said: “The company has had another profitable year of trading despite a decrease in turnover.
“The directors are confident that the strategic business model in place will provide growth over the coming years. The company is also well placed to implement expansion into wider markets if the economy allows.
“In common with many other businesses, the company - since March 2020 - has been challenged with dealing with the profound effects of coronavirus on production activity and delivery on site.
“The company has maintained connectivity between employees, customers, stakeholders and suppliers, and enabled agility in the implementation of measures and additional control methods to ensure a safe working environment whilst also enabling production activities to continue, albeit in a restricted capacity in some instances.”
A run of project wins have recently been announced, with unit orders in multiple-hundreds to head across the UK and Ireland for 2023, 2024 and 2025 completions. High end apartments and student accommodation dominate.
Walker specialises in a unique marine-grade composite bathroom pod production, delivered in a one-piece structure.
Across its 750,000 sq ft presence in Hull, it boasts four composite production lines and three steel frame lines, with the capacity to build 1,500 units a week.
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