Centerprise defies "confused and depressed" market in FY12

VAR and system builder keeps on growing profits as sales decline slightly

System builder and VAR Centerprise defied a "confused and depressed market" to boost profitability on a slight decline in sales during a solid 2012 fiscal year.

According to accounts recently filed with Companies House, the Basingstoke-based company saw revenue for the year to 31 August 2012 fall about four per cent on the prior year to £44.6m.

But gross profit margins during the year jumped from 17.45 to 18.31 per cent, with operating profit margin also rising about half a point to 4.62 per cent. This translated to a rise in operating profit of 7.7 per cent, with the operational bottom line for FY12 standing at £2.06m.

Some £3.6m was written off company investments during the year, which inflated the net pre-tax bottom line to more than £5m. This was also the main contributor to net assets declining from £8.1m to £4.55m over the course of the year.

The asset reduction was added to by the amount of money owed by debtors decreasing more than £500,000 to £3.2m, while money owed to creditors grew from £6.1m to £8.6m. The number of staff employed by the firm remained more or less at flat during FY12, moving from 98 to 100.

The directors' report characterises the year as one of robust performance in unyielding market conditions.

"Against a backdrop of a confused and depressed market we continue to make sustainable progress along our strategic path," says the report. "There was continued investment in all areas but especially in the security division as [we] look to explore more specialised markets."