Bath-based spectacles designer and manufacturer Inspecs has returned to profit after extending its global reach – although its founder said he remained cautious of the overall economic outlook for the UK and European market.
The firm turned a $3.5m loss for the first half of 2021 into a pre-tax profit of $800,000 for the six months to the end of this June on revenue pf $145.5m – an increase of 15.8% at constant exchange rates.
The firm, which has grown rapidly in recent years following a spate of acquisitions, is looking at further increasing output with construction work on a new factory in Portugal, where it has a sales office, due to start later this year.
It will also increase capacity at its Vietnam factory through expansion, which it said would satisfy increased demand from key accounts.
Production is expected to begin towards the end of next year. with distribution starting in the first quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile a new state-of-the-art lens-making facility in Gloucester for Norville, the historic UK spectacle lens maker it bought in 2020, is now fully operational after taking longer than expected to reach optimal production.
Inspecs, based in Bath’s old Gas Light and Coke building on Upper Bristol Road counts global retailers, distributors and independent opticians among its customers, while its distribution network covers more than 80 countries and reaches around 75,000 points of sale.
CEO Robin Totterman, the former bond trader who launched the business in 1988, said: “Overall, this was a good first half despite adverse foreign exchange movements and a delay in achieving optimal production levels following the Norville factory move.
“Our order books continue to grow and are ahead at 30 June 2022 compared to 30 June 2021, and the group is working hard on delivering sustained, profitable growth for all our stakeholders.”
He said he remained cautious of the overall economic outlook for the European market with continual issues arising from the Ukrainian situation and the global inflation currently prevalent in the marketplace.
“In the UK, the business environment is similar to those we are experiencing in Europe but again our team is continuing to win market share and our design teams are working hard to ensure our products are on message,” he added.
The firm was beginning to see the first commercial benefits of its investment in innovative products, he said, with orders starting to flow from Amazon while it continued to work with Bosch Sensonics on the further development of smart eyewear.
“We also continue our work on the development of biodegradable eyewear and packaging to reduce the environmental effect of eyewear,” he added.
“Our recyclable and sustainable products are now in the marketplace, and there has been a good reaction from the market for these products.”
