Business

Year of strong growth as Ulster Carpets sees sales soar by 11%

Record-breaking results come as Portadown company is granted a Royal Warrant

The Portadown-based Ulster Carpets has reported strong sales growth in its 2023/24 financial year, with sales rising by 11% to more than £89 million despite the challenges of rising costs and the punitive effects of the budget.
Ulster Carpets is building on another strong year of sales with further investment. The Portadown-based company designs and manufactures carpets for the hospitality and residential sectors across the world and has been awarded a Royal Warrant by King Charles III. The company was was responsible for the majestic wool rich Axminster carpets for the king's coronation of at Westminster Abbey (WPA Pool/Getty Images)
By Gary McDonald

Portadown-based Ulster Carpets has reported strong sales growth in its 2023/24 financial year, with sales rising by 11% to more than £89 million despite the challenges of rising costs and the punitive effects of the budget.

The company saw a huge surge in the key US Axminster market, combined with steady sales in the UK, Ireland and Europe and a strong year for its Danish subsidiary Danfloor.

But while the firm’s underlying profits jumped by 19.5% to £9.8m, the group had a hefty one-off impairment charge its the balance sheet caused by the closure of manufacturing at its factory outside Sunderland, meaning that on a bottom-line basis it posted a loss of £3.3m.

However, with the transfer of production to Portadown, this has led to an increase in job numbers and further major investment at its Castleisland site, and overall job numbers in the company have rise to 712.

Publication of the financial returns coincided with Ulster Carpets having been granted a Royal Warrant by King Charles.

Described as a unique mark of recognition, it is the second Royal Warrant bestowed on the family-owned manufacturer of luxury carpets for the home and hospitality sectors (in 2022 it was one of the final recipients of a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth, but this expired on her death).

“A Royal Warrant is a unique mark of recognition that is viewed across the world as demonstrating unparallelled levels of quality, excellence and craftmanship. This is a proud day for our company,” said Nick Coburn, Ulster Carpets Group managing director and deputy chairman.

“We take great pride in being a British company operating on a global stage and this honour underpins the high standards delivered by our dedicated employees working at our multiple sites across the UK.

“We share the King’s support for British manufacturing, farming, and sustainability and, having had the privilege and honour of supplying the carpet for the his coronation at Westminster Abbey, being awarded a Royal Warrant further strengthens our position as the premier global manufacturer of Axminster carpets.”

Speaking about th company’s financial performance, group chairman Dr John Wilson said, “When the latest investment phase is completed by April 2025, we will have the highest Axminster output in our history, giving us a platform for continual growth.

FLOORED: Ulster Carpets has endured another tough trading year due to the Covid pandemic
Ulster Carpets has reported a year of strong sales growth, with revenues rising by 11% to more than £89 million

“Work has continued at our headquarters in Portadown to build an appropriately sized capacity to service the market sectors that we are active in.

“Work in this regard is well advanced and we will have right new high-speed looms in place by early 2025. In addition to the new looms, we are engaged in a programme of refurbishing existing looms to ensure efficient function at the plant.”

He added: “Labour costs continue to rise so focus is turning to optimising both our weaving operations at Portadown and our yarn production in Yorkshire. Demand for our core Axminster product is strong and we are investing heavily in our headquarters in Portadown.

“We remain in a strong financial situation so continue to look for opportunities to employ our accrued capital in a profitable manner.”