Companies in the James Donaldson Fife-based timber group enjoyed a stronger year in the improving housebuilding and construction industry.
Accounts for the component firms for the year to March 31 2015 have been published by Companies’ House following the publication of the group’s accounts.
Overall, James Donaldson & Sons’ pre-tax profit nearly doubled at £4.52 million from a turnover up 13% at £133m.
At that time group managing director Scott Cairns said all of the businesses had grown market share to produce results in excess of any in Donaldson’s 155-year history.
After heavy investment, he said 2015 would see the completion of significant projects which would further enhance productivity and market penetration.
Donaldson Timber Engineering, which makes roof trusses and distributes a range of wood products, made a record pre-tax profit of £3.879m, an increase of 107%.
Turnover was up 16.1% at £49.6m, reflecting a considerable uplift in demand for products.
Company secretary Ian Hawkins said profit margins had grown from 25.4% to 28.5% and overheads had been well controlled.
“This has been an excellent year for the company,” he said, with a record trading performance, strong balance sheet and comfortable funding availability.
James Donaldson Timber Ltd, which operates importing, sawmilling and preservation activities and makes MDF products, recorded a pre-tax loss of £185,000.
The figure was 73% worse than the previous year, and Mr Hawkins said the performance was due to problems at the Brill site in Buckinghamshire.
Its loss was more than five times worse at £953,000, but the other sites at Leven and Chorley in Lancashire had performed well and contributed to the firm’s turnover rising by 16.7% to £48.6m. MGM Timber’s pre-tax profit was up 24.3% at £1.678m from a turnover up 5.5% at £40.9m.
James Donaldson Insulation’s pre-tax profit was more than four times higher at £46,000 from a turnover up 27.6% at £3.5m.