A turnaround plan at HW Coates has borne fruit with both turnover and profit up at the chemicals logistics specialist.

The profit rise, which was boosted in part by the introduction of new accounting standards under FRS102, was revealed in the company’s latest annual results posted in Companies House.

Leicester-based HW Coates saw its turnover climb 12% to £36.4m (2014: £32.6m) with pre-tax profit almost doubling to £12.07m (2014: £6.3m).

Its parent company HW Coates (Holdings), which includes a contribution from its 84% shareholding in the Hazchem Network and other interests, saw turnover also increase 12% in the year to 31 December to £45.4m (2014: £40.4m) with pre-tax profit rising from £6.3m to £11.6m in the same period.

Reporting its results in Companies House the firm, which employs 333 staff, said its performance was “satisfactory” for the period, adding that it anticipates the group’s performance in 2016 “will continue at a satisfactory level”.

MD Tom Coates told Motortransport.co.uk that, “after a fall in profit in 2014, the management team at HW Coates put in place a three-year turnaround plan. 2015’s results have shown satisfactory progress towards this goal, albeit the headline number is flattered by certain one-offs relating to the introduction of FRS102 accounting standards".

"For 2016 and beyond, we continue to see cost pressure, particularly driven by regulatory compliance in our core chemicals market. We are maintaining our policy of continual reinvestment and, hopefully, slow but steady growth,” he said.

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