Robinson in return to profit

The Chesterfield company, recorded a pre-tax profit of 1.1 million for the six months to the end of June on sales up three per cent at 12.1 million, thanks largely to the first full-year contribution from the Stanton Hill plastic packaging business it acquired in May 2006.

Redundancy pay outs cost the company 60,000, but it netted 1.15 million from the sale of surplus property. In the same period last year, Robinson lost 1,4 million on sales of 11.8 million after spending 154,000 on redundancies.

Chairman, Richard Clothier said: “Given the backdrop of sustained increases in raw material and energy costs, it is encouraging that we have been able to enhance the underlying profitability of the business, as well as reducing indebtedness, over the period.”

Robinson employs 400 people at factories in Chesterfield, Nottinghamshire, Toronto and Poland, where it has set up a facility designed to serve blue chip customers that have relocating to take advantage of lower manufacturing costs.