Bosses at Dundee furniture firm JTC believe it has successfully navigated “the storm” of rising costs and supply chain issues, and is now planning for growth.
JTC Furniture Group supplies kitchens, bedrooms bathrooms across a range of sectors, including social housing.
The Harrison Road firm also has a presence in the growing student accommodation sector, as well as education and healthcare facilities.
Finance director Antony Bell said the firm saw its energy bills at least doubled last year, while the rising cost of fuel had a major impact.
He said prices for some materials were increasing every month.
Mr Bell said: “It was a tough year – our costs went through the roof. I don’t think there’s a company out there that wasn’t impacted by that.
“But despite that, I think we’ve produced decent numbers.”
Turnover almost back to pre-Covid
He added the firm’s turnover has almost returned to pre-Covid levels, but admits its volume of work is still below where it was in 2019.
Mr Bell added: “Our prices have gone up, so our volume possibly isn’t quite back to pre-pandemic levels, but turnover is.
“At the end of the day, we’ve come through the storm that was 2022 and we’ve come out in a half decent position.”
Accounts for JTC Furniture Group Holdings Limited show turnover of £25.1 million for the year to December 2022. That is up from £18.3m the year before.
The accounts also show pre-tax profits of £885,738, a slight drop on from the 2021 figure, which was just north of £1m.
Passing costs on to customers was a challenge, Mr Bell added.
He added: “I think over the course of the year we ran a bit behind from our prices going up to passing those on to customers. You can’t just switch that button.”
Growing workforce at JTC Furniture Group
Despite the challenges of the past 12 months, Mr Bell said the business has grown its workforce. It now employs more than 250 people.
Mr Bell said the firm is constantly on the lookout for staff. He said recruitment has been another challenge.
“We’ve got an apprenticeship scheme specifically for kitchen fitters. That’s something we hope to do every year.
“We hope they stay with us, but it just adds to the pool of kitchen fitters in the marketplace.
“Recruitment is an issue for everyone. We’re constantly recruiting staff because people come and go. We’ve got people starting every few weeks.”
Mr Bell also said the firm is on course to grow this year.
He added: “We believe we’ve got reasonably strong growth ahead.
“We’re already achieving it this year and we think that will continue into next year.
“There is a lot going on within the social housing market, and we’re winning more market share. Most of that growth has been into England.”
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