This is the second chairman of a major Gloucestershire plc who has begun a financial report this year not by talking money, but by thanking staff for what they have delivered through the most difficult of years.
Jamie Pike, chairman of Spirax Sarco, did talk figures, of course – mentioning that industrial production was down between four and five percent, but against the backdrop of a global pandemic he seemed to consider this no mean achievement.
Mr Pike said the performance of the Cheltenham-headquartered business, one of Gloucestershire’s biggest private employers with 1,000 staff in the county and 7,900 staff globally, had revealed a ‘robust’ and ‘resilient’ business model.
‘On behalf of the board, I would like to thank our colleagues throughout the world for their outstanding individual and collective contributions during this unprecedented time.
‘Our teams have pulled together, often in challenging personal circumstances to meet the needs of our customers, enabling us to play our part in supporting industrial processes in critical, frontline industries including food and beverage, healthcare and pharmaceutical and biotechnology.
‘They have also made exceptional efforts to provide support to our communities, helping those who need it most.
‘We sincerely appreciate their hard work and dedication as we engineer a more efficient, safer and sustainable world,’ said Mr Pike, in a statement in the company’s preliminary results just published.
When it came to the figures there was also positives to be had.
‘These results demonstrate our ability to adapt to the changing requirements of our customers, the diverse nature of our end markets and the resilience of our business model,’ said Nicholas Anderson, group chief executive, also unable to avoid giving credit where it was due.
Group sales were ‘were £1,193.4 million (2019: £1,242.4 million). Adjusted operating profit was £270.4 million, down from £282.7m.
Just last month Andrew Croft, chief executive of Cirencester-based wealth management firm St James’s Place used also his business’s annual results to pay tribute to the commitment of staff through the pandemic.
By Andrew Merrell
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