Apex annual profit up nearly tenfold

Apex Corporation had an excellent year ending October with profit before tax increasing more than tenfold from $737.2 million to $7.8 billion.

More than half of the profit came from Phoenix Consolidated Industries, which is also a listed company.

Sales shot up from $4.3 billion to $24.5 billion with trading profit at $8.2 billion, up from $886.7 million the previous year.

Phoenix contributed $13.5 billion to the turnover and $4.83 billion to the profit before tax.

Sales from the Communications Division which includes Philpott and Collins, two printing companies Bardwell and RCP/Belmont Printers as well as Supersonic totaled $4.1 billion.

This was a drastic increase from $969 million realised in 2002. Profit shot up from $78 million to $701 million.

The Foundries Division saw sales increase from $905 million to $6.2 billion and profit shoot up from $164 million to $2.2 billion.

Zimcast sales exceeded $4.5 billion.

Precision Grinders is poised to do well in the local and export market for its agricultural and mining equipment.

The company had borrowings of $1 billion at the end of the year to fund working capital and new equipment.

It had $79 million cash at the end of the previous year.

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