Renishaw Plc, the scientific measurement and opto-electronic specialist based in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, has reported a downturn in profitability and turnover for the year to June 30. Pre-tax profits declined to UKP9.9m from UKP11.1m in 1991, and turnover fell 3.5% to UKP44m. Although 90% of turnover came from overseas, Italy and Japan experienced significant shortfalls, as did the UK which saw contribution to turnover fall to UKP3.3m from UKP4.2m – the US contribution increased to UKP14.4m from UKP13.9m. Renishaw says that its results reflect tight trading conditions resulting from a decline in worldwide manufacturing activity, in addition to inflationary costs which the group had to absorb. The company recently introduced its Cyclone high-speed scanning and digitising machine which enables the scanning and reproduction of components, and a two-dimensional imaging microscope for specral analysis. UKP5.8m was devoted to engineering costs while the research and development budget increased to UKP3.7m from UKP3.6m. The company sees no indication of an imminent economic upturn, it says that there is significant underlying demand for its current products and that the new additions provide further growth potential.
