The trend towards buying components rather than making them has benefitted Unitech Plc handsomely, and the company is confident that there is more to come. The Reading, Berkshire-based electronic components and controls manufacturer reported pre-tax profits soaring 84% to ú36.4m from turnover up 21% at ú365.5m. Things are continuing in a similar vein and finance director Jeff Hewitt told Reuters There’s an increase in sales and orders and normally profits should follow. Unitech’s shares put on 21 pence to 434 pence at the news. Prospects are thought to be good because of the trend mentioned at the start and the growth opportunity afforded the group in the expanding telecommunications sector. The power supplies division is the largest, making AC/DC adaptors and its P series of high density DC/DC power supplies. Pre-tax profits here were up 47% and sales 16% after adjusting for currency movements and the contribution of Advanced Analog, acquired early in the year (CI No 2,468). The 51% owned Japanese subsidiary, Nemic-Lambda has benefitted from the strength of the yen, which has caused companies outside Japan to invest more in their manufacturing capabilities to keep up, according to chairman and company founder Peter Curry. Excluding Advanced Analog, the US companies had a very strong second half in terms of turnover, but profits lagged behind slightly as Novatronics struggled in the second half and costs there have been reduced further. Advanced Analog itself traded up to expectations, bringing in sales of 11.4m and pre-tax profits of 2.3m in the year. Europe progressed well, driven mainly by the Omega range of power supplies, according to Curry. The control products division came with a late run in the second half to reverse a profits decline and produce an increase for the year of 13%, with sales up 10%, representing 15% of group turnover. In the UK, ACL-Drayton struggled in a difficult market, according to Curry, but Erie Manufacturing in the US saw demand for its products strengthen. The connectors division, which is marginally smaller than control products, recovered from a loss last year to produce a ú3.0m profit this time, with improvement spread across the entire 12-month period. Proner Comatel in France is said to have benefitted from an improvement in the domestic automotive industry. Wells Electronics in the US saw sales grow 49% and Japanese sales more than doubled. As Hewitt indicated earlier, the current year has started where last year left off. The company will pay a final dividend of 4.98 pence for a yearly total of 7.55 pence, a rise of 15% on last year.
