Heywood Williams announced 3 May that 2006 was another year of strong progress for the company, with a robust performance & a strong platform for future growth being created following the acquisition of Carlisle Brass. Profit before tax & items at £9.4M was up 19% excluding the one-off earnings benefit from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Profit before tax was in line with 2005 when the impact of Katrina is included. Net cash generated for the year, prior to expenditure on acquisitions, was £8.3M. On 3 October 2006, the group completed the £48M acquisition of Carlisle Brass, a high quality architectural hardware business. The group continues to perform in line with its plans & the firm announced that the board remains confident that the group will demonstrate further progress.
