British eyewear designer and lens manufacturer Inspecs has maintained the strong financial results posted since the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM division in February 2020.
Revenue rose sharply to $125.7m from $16.7m and the company posted a pre-tax loss of $2.6m, compared with a loss of $8.3m a year earlier. Inspecs attributed the narrowed loss to non-underlying costs totalling $1.2m and a foreign-exchange loss on borrowings of $3.6m.
Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), the metric that strips out exceptional and other one-off items like inventory relating to last year’s acquisition of Eschenbach, also saw a notable increase. It climbed to $17.7 million from $677,000 in the same period last year.
The company said there were several operational highlights during the first six months of 2021. In Vietnam, construction work on its plant has been completed and additional land was acquired to facilitate additional manufacturing capacity. In the UK, construction of a new production facility for Norville is under way, with work expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Norville was appointed UK sales distributor for Leica ophthalmic lenses after the product was introduced into the UK by Dunelm Optical in 2019.
Inspecs CEO Robin Totterman said: ‘These results reflect the hard work that our employees have put in to ensure that the Group can operate despite Covid-19 restrictions. My thanks for the flexibility our teams have displayed across the globe.
‘Our factories have managed to carry on producing in what has been an extraordinarily difficult time and all our factory workers in Vietnam have been vaccinated to enable them to carry on production. Our plant in China has continued to operate despite Covid-19 difficulties throughout the period. Our teams across the globe continue to drive new innovation, explore opportunities and expand into new markets through integration, organic growth and acquisitions.’
New opportunities
Optician asked Inspecs managing director Steve Tulba if the company was looking to strengthen through acquisitions in particular part of the business. ‘The group is always exploring new opportunities to enhance our product offering and expand into new territories that make strategic sense for the business,’ said Tulba.
‘We will continue to focus on growing our market share and accelerate organic growth through value enhancing acquisitions. We are lucky to have an experienced mergers and acquisitions team with deep sector knowledge and a track record in delivering value, who are always looking for the next opportunity.’
Tulba told Optician that next opportunity was likely to be omnichannel shopping for the consumer as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. ‘There has been an accelerated shift towards an omnichannel model for many – for example looking at different frames online and then going into a store to try them on and have them fitted – and I believe this omnichannel experience will only continue to expand,’ he said.
‘At Inspecs we have done all we possibly can to assist our customers so they can help their customers in turn, such as providing additional online capabilities, including the 360 degree photography of our frames, which will soon be a feature of the Inspecs B2B online shop, which has seen a dramatic increase in sales from our trade customers, particularly in terms of repeat orders.
‘For the end consumer, Covid-19 health and safety regulations and how practices are maintained in terms of a clean environment do remain important, especially where eye tests are involved,’ added Tulba.
‘Many opticians have done a very good job during the pandemic at ensuring customers feel safe, and we have seen the positive effects from this through their sales, particularly in the independent sector in the UK.’