Castlewellan-based steel specialist Walter Watson has built up assets of more than £53 million - nearly half of which is in cash - after what its directors said was a “highly resilient” set of results in the 2023 calendar year.
The group, owned by Walter Watson (79) and his wife Sarah (75), with two of their children among its directors, is the largest family-owned structural steel fabricator in Ireland.
It increased its turnover during the year by 2% to £77.8 million compared to £75.9m the previous year, and its pre-tax profit lifted to £9.5m from £9.1m.
The group has seen its margins remain at 18%, which it says is satisfactory considering the enduring inflation pressures across many of its input costs, especially with fluctuating steel raw material and direct energy costs.
Net assets of the group at year-end stood at £53.5 million - up from £46.3m previously.
Founded in the mid-1960s and with a base in Co Kildare, the company operates across five key areas of structural steel, steel reinforcement, cranes, steel stock-holding and agri-products.
“Our 2023 results demonstrate the resilience of the group as we continued to deliver on our strategic objectives while maintaining sustainable growth,” the directors said in a statement with accounts just filed at Companies House.
“Our strong liquidity position is demonstrated by net cash at the year-end of £24.7m (up from £17.6m in 2022) whilst demonstrating a responsible approach to prompt supplier payment.
“The group has no bank loans or overdrafts, and shareholder funds of £53.5m also highlighted the balance sheet strength of the group.”
Walter Watson - whose staff numbers during the year rose from 208 to 224, which pushed up its overall wages bill to £8.9m - says it has a “healthy” order book for the remainder of this year and the directors view the outlook with confidence.
“Although aware of the changing dynamic with enquiry levels, we have positioned the group in preparation for further growth,” they add.
That confidence comes despite UK steel production being on a downward trend for the second year in a row.
Industry figures show that steel-makers reduced production by 6.5% in 2023 compared to 2022, to 5.6 million tons, and the UK ranked 26th in the global ranking of steel producing countries.
