Mar 19: Booming Vindon pays first dividend
OVERSEAS growth and a contract with the Tate Gallery to store works of art helped Vindon Healthcare to achieve record sales and profits last year, the Oldham-based company has announced.
Its core business involves storing drugs under development for pharmaceutical giants such as AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline and Pfizer, to test whether they are affected by different temperatures and degrees of humidity. But AIM-listed Vindon has begun branching out into other areas, storing items such as chocolate, Fisherman's Friend lozenges, toothpaste, vitamins, make-up and perfume.
It has also secured an order from the Tate to store works or art, books and old films not on display.
These developments coupled with Vindon's first sales in to the United States and Belgium helped it achieve a 30 per cent rise in sales during 2007, from £3.84m to £5m.
Pre-tax profits surged 37.7 per cent, from £972,000 to £1.34. The firm is to pay a maiden dividend of 0.1p.
Shares in Vindon gained 4.3 per cent, or 0.5p, to 17p.
Vindon, which employs 50 staff, is to move later this year from its headquarters at Diggle to a purpose-built site on Rochdale's Kingsway Business Park.
The switch will give it six times its current storage space and more capacity to manufacture blood storage banks for hospitals and chambers for growing plants in research laboratories.
During 2007 Vindon opened a facility in Tramore, Co Waterford, and has secured several deals. It is eyeing sales in Italy, France and Germany this year.
Chairman Liam Ferguson said: "Vindon has made a good start to 2008 and the board is pleased with the present order book position and new business inquiry levels.
"The group has a distinctive business capable of substantial growth which is backed by a robust financial platform and an enviable client list and track record.
"This, combined with its loyal and knowledgeable staff and excellent facilities, means that Vindon can face the challenges of the future with confidence."
He said Vindon is benefiting from the trend towards outsourcing in the pharmaceutical, medical and healthcare sectors and from increasing life expectancy which is giving rise to greater demand for drugs to treat illnesses and for cosmetic purposes.
Vindon had £3.75m of revenues booked at the end of 2007 for annual contracts and storage trials, ahead of the figure a year earlier.
Anne Crow, an analyst at broker WH Ireland, said Vindon's results were ahead of expectations.
She has now revised her forecasts for 2008 and predicts profits of £1.69m on turnover of £5.88m.
ENVIABLE Liam Ferguson, chairman of Vindon, seen here with operations director Ian Gordon (left) and business development manager Pat Jackson (right) spoke of 'substantial growth'
kevin feddy
Manchester Evening News
(c) 2008
Its core business involves storing drugs under development for pharmaceutical giants such as AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline and Pfizer, to test whether they are affected by different temperatures and degrees of humidity. But AIM-listed Vindon has begun branching out into other areas, storing items such as chocolate, Fisherman's Friend lozenges, toothpaste, vitamins, make-up and perfume.
It has also secured an order from the Tate to store works or art, books and old films not on display.
These developments coupled with Vindon's first sales in to the United States and Belgium helped it achieve a 30 per cent rise in sales during 2007, from £3.84m to £5m.
Pre-tax profits surged 37.7 per cent, from £972,000 to £1.34. The firm is to pay a maiden dividend of 0.1p.
Shares in Vindon gained 4.3 per cent, or 0.5p, to 17p.
Vindon, which employs 50 staff, is to move later this year from its headquarters at Diggle to a purpose-built site on Rochdale's Kingsway Business Park.
The switch will give it six times its current storage space and more capacity to manufacture blood storage banks for hospitals and chambers for growing plants in research laboratories.
During 2007 Vindon opened a facility in Tramore, Co Waterford, and has secured several deals. It is eyeing sales in Italy, France and Germany this year.
Chairman Liam Ferguson said: "Vindon has made a good start to 2008 and the board is pleased with the present order book position and new business inquiry levels.
"The group has a distinctive business capable of substantial growth which is backed by a robust financial platform and an enviable client list and track record.
"This, combined with its loyal and knowledgeable staff and excellent facilities, means that Vindon can face the challenges of the future with confidence."
He said Vindon is benefiting from the trend towards outsourcing in the pharmaceutical, medical and healthcare sectors and from increasing life expectancy which is giving rise to greater demand for drugs to treat illnesses and for cosmetic purposes.
Vindon had £3.75m of revenues booked at the end of 2007 for annual contracts and storage trials, ahead of the figure a year earlier.
Anne Crow, an analyst at broker WH Ireland, said Vindon's results were ahead of expectations.
She has now revised her forecasts for 2008 and predicts profits of £1.69m on turnover of £5.88m.
ENVIABLE Liam Ferguson, chairman of Vindon, seen here with operations director Ian Gordon (left) and business development manager Pat Jackson (right) spoke of 'substantial growth'
kevin feddy
Manchester Evening News
(c) 2008
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
