The safety net of insurance meant interior furnishings group Walker Greenbank (WGB) didn't suffer too badly from the floods that hit its Lancaster-based factory in December. The £1.4m payout helped push adjusted pre-tax profit up 10 per cent to nearly £9m. Chief executive John Sach says the Standfast & Barracks fabric printing site will be back to 83 per cent of its capacity by the end of April, with the remainder back in five months' time. Third-party customer orders make up 55 per cent of its two factories' output, and those that can't be handled onsite are being contracted out.
During the period, UK branded sales rose 3.9 per cent to £40m, while overseas branded sales jumped 8.9 per cent in constant currencies, with the US a standout performer. However, flood damage and strong comparators meant overall constant-currency brand sales were down slightly in the first nine weeks of the 2017 financial year.