ONE of South Lakeland’s leading manufacturers has been left counting the cost of spiralling fuel prices.
Specialist papermaker James Cropper plc made a pre-tax loss of £261,000 for the first six months of the year, compared with profits of £1.265 million for the same period last year.
Despite group turnover rising by five per cent to £37.7m during the six-month period, the company made a loss after being severely affected by the increasing cost of energy and pulp.
The company’s speciality papers division – the largest in the group – expects its gas bill for the full year could be in excess of £5.5m – more than double the figure for the previous year.
The papermaking operation saw total sales rise by seven per cent, while another division, Technical Fibre Products (TFP), achieved a 15 per cent jump in turnover with profits up four per cent on last year.
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