AYRSHIRE-based haulage and construction group Maxi hiked its turnover in its last financial year and, although profits dipped, owner Gerry Atkinson highlighted his satisfaction with the results given the "grim" economic climate.
Maxi Haulage increased its turnover to £42.85 million in the year to September 30, 2012, from £40.39m in the prior 12 months.
Irvine-headquartered Maxi, owned by Mr Atkinson and his family, said this growth had been achieved in spite of "the continued extreme depression in the industry". However, cost inflation and price pressure resulted in pre-tax profits falling from £2.09m to £1.43m.
Asked about the economic backdrop, Mr Atkinson replied: "It is pretty grim. We are doing OK. It has affected [profit] margins because you can't pass inflation on to customers at the moment.
"All the costs that can be cut have already been cut. We are doing OK under those circumstances. That [economic backdrop] is just a fact of life. That is how it is at the moment."
Maxi Construction, a main contractor involved in projects including schools, fire stations, swimming pools, and warehouse and factory extensions, raised its turnover by more than £700,000 in the year to September 2012, to £6.76m.
This growth, Maxi said, had been achieved in a "continuing very depressed and competitive market".
Maxi Construction made pre-tax profits of £216,212 in the year to September 30.
Mr Atkinson noted that this was down from about £511,000 in the year to September 2011. However, he highlighted one-off factors which had boosted this prior-year result and indicated that profit margins in this construction business had been broadly unchanged between the two financial years.
Commenting on trading so far in the current 12 months to September 2013, he noted that turnover and profit margins in the haulage business were both ahead of those in the same period of the financial year to September 2012.
He added that turnover was also higher in construction, with profit margins steady.
Maxi has defied the tough economic conditions by increasing its workforce.
Mr Atkinson said 266 people were employed in the haulage business and at head office, with 30 staff in the construction division.
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