Bath-headquartered spectacles designer and manufacturer Inspecs has continued to recover from a difficult 2022 by focussing on driving sales and improving operational efficiencies, its CEO said this week.
Revenue at the group, which produces a wide range of spectacle frames and lenses, including sunglasses and safety glasses, for markets across the world, increased by 6% to £111.1m in the six months to 30 June.
In a half-year trading update to shareholders, the group said strong cash generation during the period meant net debt decreased by £5m to £22.6m.
It also invested £900,000 on its new manufacturing facility in Vietnam.
Inspecs, which floated on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market three years ago, was forced to reshuffle its board last October following the resignation of its chair, former Tesco boss and City grandee Lord MacLaurin.
A warning over future sales made at the same time resulted in its shares losing half their value.
However, a rebound in its European markets and continued growth in others gave it a more positive end to 2002 which continued into this year.
Inspecs chief executive officer Richard Peck said: “I am pleased that the positive momentum that we experienced in Q1 continued into Q2 and that all of the group’s major markets have performed consistently in H1 2023.
“We continue to focus on our strategy of driving sales and improving operational efficiency. As a result of this performance in the first half of the year, notwithstanding the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, the board remains confident in delivering full year results in line with market expectations.”
The company was started in London in 1988 by former bond trader Robin Totterman, who later relocated it to Bath.
Its customers include international optical and non-optical retailers, global distributors and independent opticians, while its distribution network covers more than 80 countries and reaches approximately 75,000 points of sale.
It has offices and subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, Portugal, Scandinavia, the US and China – including Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen – and manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, China, the UK and Italy.
It will report its interim results on 7 September.
