Castings PLC said on Wednesday that due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, pre-tax profits and revenues for the 2021 fiscal year have fallen, but full production has now resumed.
The cast iron and machining company reported a pre-tax profit of 5 million pounds ($7 million) for the year ended March 31, down from 12.7 million pounds in the 2020 fiscal year.
The company said that because customers stopped manufacturing trucks, its output fell by 80% in the first two months of the fiscal year. Although demand increased in the second half of the year, production was interrupted due to the need for employees to self-isolate.
The company said that although full production has now resumed, its customers are still struggling to cope with the shortage of semiconductors and other key components, and the prices of raw materials have risen sharply. Castings said that these increases will be reflected in price increases in fiscal year 2022, but profits in the last three months of fiscal year 2021 will be affected.
The board of directors declared a final dividend of 11.69 pence, increasing the total annual dividend from 14.88 pence a year ago to 15.26 pence.
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