Sheffield surgical blade maker Swann-Morton bounces back from pandemic with strong results

Swann-Morton said turnover increased 13 per cent from £22.8m to £25.8m in the year to September 30.

Profit before tax was £631,313, almost double the year previous, but a long way short of the £8.4m it made in the year before the pandemic.

But the firm, which received a £646,000 government grant during the outbreak, has protected jobs. Employee numbers fell by just eight - from 348 to 340 - in 2020 and increased to 363 last year.

The firm exports to more than 100 countries and says sales to all three areas increased: UK, Europe and Rest of the World.

In the annual accounts, bosses said there were ‘significant price pressures’ but trading had begun to return to pre-pandemic levels as elective surgery resumed.

The Hillsborough-based company is a big presence in the Penistone Road area where it has three sites. Established in 1932, it attributes its success to the founders, who put the needs of workers first: ‘they are the human beings on which everything is built’.

The company did not respond to The Star, but further analysis shows how decisions made during the pandemic are paying off.

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It cut its pension liabilities from £45.1m to £40m and invested £592,967 in autogrinder technology to cut blades, as well as sterile packing equipment and a foil cutting system.

It also significantly increased the amount of cash ‘at bank and in hand’ - from £1.3m to £2.9m.

A Sheffield financial expert who asked not to be named, said: “They have done incredibly well to get through a difficult period and ramp up production quickly when demand returned.

“They’ve increased cash at hand, giving them the ability to buy stock or services quickly as they recover. And they made a big investment so they can compete around the world.

“Not taking dividends again shows prudence. This appears to be a company that cares about its brand, employees and the quality of its goods and products.”

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No dividends were paid to shareholders for the second year running. The company is employee-owned which means staff would have collectively taken the hit.

The amount owed to creditors falling due within one year rose from £5m to £7.2m, with a sizeable proportion of the increase ‘amounts owed to group undertakings’ which increased from £2.2m to £3.6m.

An £837,000 bank loan remains on the books unchanged from 2020.

The four directors were paid a total of £594,615 with the highest receiving £227,218, a fall of £820 on the year previous.

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The company was set up to make razor blades by Walter R Swann, Mr JA Morton and Doris Fairweather. It gradually moved into surgical blades.

In the 1960's it developed an in-house sterilisation process, a service it today charges out to other healthcare manufacturers.

Cobb Works, across from the headquarters on Owlerton Green, was built in September 2006 for research and development. Cygnet works followed in October 2008.

Today it says it is a world leader in the manufacture of surgical blades, scalpels and handles, with 70 blade shapes and 30 different handles.

Swann-Morton is a longstanding member of the Employee Ownership Association.

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