In its 250^th year of trading, timber importer and distributor the James Latham Group has just announced its preliminary results, recording an impressive 21 percent increase on last year’s turnover.

The results also show a significant increase in operating profits to £4,209,000 against £2,690,000 last year, an increase of 56 percent.

Profit before tax stands at £4,578,000 against last year’s £2,936,000, an increase of 56 percent.

In his first year as Chairman, Peter Latham commented: "Last year was a strong trading year for James Latham, and the company has performed extremely well in the past six months. Turnover was up more than 20 percent and the balance sheet still remains strong. The leased head office and warehouse at Hemel Hempstead was purchased for £5.25 million in November,"

He added: "Trading conditions in terms of supply, demand and pricing can change rapidly in this industry and James Latham continually monitors the market to remain in a strong position to respond early to any adverse trends. While demand from our merchant customers has slowed, other customer groups continue to show high demand levels and the strong growth in the existing business has absorbed working capital."

The Company also revealed that current strategies to relocate two depots to larger premises are progressing well. Plans also include opening a new site, which is expected to be announced before the end of the year.


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For further press information contact Tim Roberts or Rebecca Jones at Connectpoint PR on 0161 817 4200 or 07831151007, Email: tim.roberts@connectpoint.co.uk