Coats Group profits grow as demand recovers, upbeat on 2022

Industrial thread maker Coats Group said on Thursday that full-year operating profit and revenue rose as demand recovered, as it struck an upbeat note on the outlook.

In the year to the end of December 2021, adjusted operating profit rose to $193m from £111m the year before, with revenues up to $1.5bn from $1.2bn. On a reported basis, operating profit grew to $179m from $103m. Meanwhile, pre-tax profit improved to $172.5m from $86.4m.

The company declared a final dividend of 1.50 cents a share, up 15% on 2020.

Chief executive Rajiv Sharma said: "2021 was a strong year for Coats with sales and cash exceeding 2019 levels and operating profit close to 2019 levels. Sales growth accelerated through the year, notably in the final quarter driven by demand recovery and good market share gains in threads.

"This was due to flexing our global supply chain, proactive inventory management, strong supplier relationships, strong local leadership and teamwork. Our ability to meet customer requirements for reliability, sustainability, innovation and quality was a point of major differentiation."

Coats said it expects continued growth in 2022 and for the full year performance to be "modestly ahead" of its previous expectations.

At 0830 GMT, the shares were up 14% at 67.10p.