The industrial automation group, Hove-based Eurotherm International Plc, has spent much of the past financial year seeking out new customers to replace those that have reduced or withdrawn their custom under the pressure of the fallen UK and US economies. As a result, order levels are said to have held up well in general. And, although sales were in hard terms down 4% at UKP158m, the directors note that before exchange rate effects, year-on-year turnover was within 2%. Cash management was a prime focus during the twelve-month, and gearing has been maintained at last year’s level of 30.2%, down from a higher level at the interim stage. The company has been a recovery play for longer than most care to remember, and restructuring over the year has involved management changes and the appointment of Claes Hultman as group managing director. As a result, the group reckons that it is now a more coherent operation. The current year has got off to a good start, it says, with orders above expectations, though the board is cautious of making optimistic predictions based on what has passed so early in the year.
