New chief executive Rik De Vos is again rolling up his sleeves at cleaning and personal care product maker McBride (MCB). Not content with a UK restructure, which has already realised £4.9m of savings this year, the company has unveiled a 'repair, prepare, grow' strategy. This is likely to focus on growing its business in Europe, given that it already commands a 90 per cent share of the private-label market in the UK.
Operating profits swung from a £13.9m loss last year to a £9.7m gain, and would have been healthier still had it not been for nearly £19m in exceptional items. Chief financial officer Chris Smith said it had written off goodwill it was holding against an Italian investment from a previous acquisition, and had taken impairments on an air care and aerosol business. It also closed a factory in China, where it will now operate with only a product-sourcing team.