Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Following last year’s exceptional figures, operating profits fell to pre-2005 levels, and rising interest costs helped hammer pre-tax profits to their lowest level since 2002.

The Suffolk Ltd report examines the results of the top 100 businesses in the county, excluding larger quoted companies, and compiles the figures into a composite business report to cover the seven key industry sectors.

Graham Shorter, partner at Grant Thornton in Ipswich, said: “The results of this year’s Suffolk Limited bear out the caution that was expressed by companies last year, when Suffolk Limited was posting record profits.

“Across most of the sectors this year there has been deterioration in profitability. However, there has also been evidence of restructuring to ensure that businesses remain competitive.”

Traditional industries continue to hold sway according to the report, with the transport and motor retail sector the largest contributor to the county's economy for the fourth successive year.

The sector enjoyed a 28.9 per cent share of total turnover, with food and agriculture (19.5 per cent) and retail and wholesale distribution (19.3 per cent) retaining second and third places respectively. The top three sectors account for just under 70 per cent of Suffolk Ltd’s turnover.

Suffolk Ltd’s formidable transport and motor retail sector comprises 29 companies split into two distinct groups, with 13 members in the haulage sector and 16 in truck and car retail. Together they accounted for 30 per cent of Suffolk Ltd’s pre-tax profits.

All the major haulage companies improved on the previous year’s results, with turnover rising by 12 per cent (£68 million), and operating profits up by 13 per cent (£3 million).

Haulage now contributes more than £600 million to Suffolk Ltd’s turnover, and the leading business continues to be Turners (Soham) Limited, which the report describes as being “in a class of its own”, with profits approaching £15 million. Operating profits for the haulage sector as a whole totalled £24 million – 19 per cent of the whole of Suffolk Ltd.

The number of people employed by Suffolk Ltd increased by just under 10 per cent to a record 32,907, with retail and wholesale distribution for the first time employing the highest proportion of the workforce (28 per cent), followed by transport and motor retail (22 per cent). Average salaries grew by just 0.2 per cent to £19,934.

Other highlights of the report were:

• The services sector increased turnover by 24 per cent and operating profits by 8 per cent. However, high interest charges meant that pre-tax profits were 39 per cent lower.

• Manufacturing now accounts for just 9 per cent of Suffolk Ltd’s turnover, but for 16 per cent of its operating profits.

• Food and agriculture turnover increased by 3 per cent, but pre-tax profits fell by almost a half.

• Property and construction turnover fell by 4 per cent, and profits more than halved.

• Nineteen of Suffolk Ltd’s companies reported pre-tax losses this year, compared with 12 the previous year.

• Fifteen new companies were selected for inclusion in Suffolk Ltd this year. The minimum turnover level for inclusion was £12million.

• The fastest growing company in Suffolk Ltd was wholesale clothes distributor Stuncroft Holdings Limited, with turnover growth of 96 per cent.

• The largest employer is the East of England Co-operative Society with 5,426 employees, a 68 per cent increase on the previous year following the merger between the Ipswich & Norwich Co-operative Society, and the Colchester & East Essex Co-operative Society.

• The average number of days Suffolk Ltd companies take to collect their debts has decreased from 34 days to 33 days.