‘Tough’ year as Aga hit by slump
Friday 12th March 2010, 8:10AM GMT.
Aga Rangemaster, which makes its iconic cookers in Shropshire, today announced a drop in pre-tax profits from £14.4m to £500,000 in an “extremely tough” year.
The company sold 12,150 cast iron cookers in 2009, compared with 15,400 in 2008, but signalled it was hopeful of “real improvement” in 2010 as it looks to build on the recovery in sales seen in the second half of last year.
Bosses said that the recent cold weather may have slowed short-term activity, but home survey numbers were ahead of 2009 as the conditions highlighted the benefits of its heat storage and stove products.
Sales were down 12 per cent overall in 2009, although sales of the Aga cookers produced at the foundry in Coalbrookdale and the Ketley factory proved “resilient”.
The company said: “The group continues to make the foundry and factory complex in Shropshire more efficient.”
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It’s not surprising, an Aga is a luxury item which can cost as much as a small family car and recent trading conditions haven’t exactly been favourable. Let’s hope they have a reversal of fortune soon, as I like the fact that there’s still a real, living, breathing foundry in the Ironbridge Gorge.
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