Aga cooks up record profits
UK kitchen equipment group Aga today said increasing international demand for its legendary cookers helped it serve up another record performance.
The Birmingham-based company said its products now had an “established presence” outside the UK, with a specially adapted version of its Rangemaster oven doing particularly well in the United States.
This helped pre-tax profits lift 9.7% to £30.6m (€44m) in the year to December 31, as the lacklustre markets of the previous two years started to improve.
Aga said its US version of the Rangemaster Elan sold well in the growing US cooker market, while demand was also strong for Aga’s conventional cooking range.
It added: “We have our heartland and origins in the UK but we now have an established presence in Europe and North America.”
The Aga cooker oven is well-known in the UK for its timeless design, and sales abroad have been increasing in recent years.
The greatest progress in 2004 was by Rangemaster, which saw the number of cookers sold increase by 15% to 60,000.
As well as its retail arm, Aga also fits refrigeration and bakery equipment for companies such as Marks & Spencer and Safeway through its foodservice division.
It said 2004 was a far more encouraging year for the European foodservice arm, with big clients investing more money after a slower two years. This growth included contracts with clients including the new Wembley Stadium and pubs in the UK.
The company said its new Infinity fryer, which reduces operating costs by using less oil and is aimed at raising health and safety standards, was expected to be a “cornerstone” of the foodservice operations this financial year.
Aga’s 55-store Fired Earth chain, which makes decorative ceramics, increased revenues by 8%, with growth coming from the larger stores which include Aga ranges.
In the US, home furnishings operation Domain reported better trading with like-for-like sales 6% ahead in the final quarter.
