Ottobock UK profits more than double in 2019 as turnover hits £24.8 million
Ottobock Healthcare PLC’s annual report has revealed the company enjoyed success for the year ended 31 December 2019, with a three per cent rise in turnover and a substantial increase in profits.
The manufacturer and distributor of prosthetic limbs, orthotic supports, and wheelchairs is part of the global Ottobock group – the privately-owned prosthetic juggernaut with headquarters in Duderstadt, Germany and offices and clinics throughout the world.
In June 2020, the group declared its worldwide sales exceeded one billion euros for the first time in its 100-year history, aided by double-digit growth in its wheelchair segment.
Now, the company’s annual report has revealed the turnover for its UK operations amounted to £24,776,747 for the year ended 31 December 2019, up £783k against the previous period.
Alongside the growth in turnover, the company saw a marked increase in profits for 2019.
Ottobock’s operating profit jumped from £986k in 2018 to £1,986k in 2019, a 101 per cent increase.
Writing in the company’s strategic report, Phil Yates, Managing Director of Ottobock, attributed the increase in profits to “due to an improvement in gross profit margin”, with Ottobock’s cost of sales remaining proportionally flat despite the increase in turnover.
Ottobock’s EBIDTA for the period was £2,344,655, an increase of £1,010,843 against 2018’s £1,333,812.
Describing the results and the manufacturer’s financial position at the end of 2019 as “pleasing”, Yates highlighted that 2020 is “viewed with a degree of uncertainty due to prevailing market condition and the impact of Covid-19.”
Alongside the impact of Covid-19, the company’s strategic report also identified the uncertainty of Brexit as a risk.
To reduce the chancer of Brexit disruption, Ottobock’s MD explained the company’s directors have obtained EORI numbers. According to the annual report, the company generated £3.5m of its revenue outside of the UK.
Emphasising the uncertain nature of the coronavirus outbreak, Yates noted that difficulty of accurately predicting the financial effect of COVID-19 with any degree of certainty.
The MD did, however, reveal that Ottobock saw turnover returning to pre-Covid levels in June 2020 during the summer recovery. In the report, the company also stated it was committed to tendering for NHS clinic contracts in the coming year.
For the year ended 31 December 2019, Ottobock made a profit after taxation of £1.6m, doubling 2018’s £804k.
