A FERMANAGH steel manufacturer has grown its turnover by £10 million over the past year on the back of increased efficiencies in all divisions of the business.
Enniskillen headquartered steel fabricators BHC has seen its turnover rise to over £53 million for the year ending March 31, 2017, built upon a 24 per cent growth in sales over 12 months.
Sales grew from £34 million to just shy of £43 million in a year of strong growth at the family-owned business.
Profit before tax also rose by over a quarter (26 per cent) from £3.1 million to £3.9 million according to the company's annual accounts, while an additional 39 staff were taking on at the firm, which now employs 342.
As a direct result the company's annual wage bill has risen from £10.7 million to £12.3 million, with almost £2 million extra paid out in additional salaries over the year.
Furthermoree net assets at the firm have increased to £20 million from £18 million and the capital investment programme in the company has continued during the year.
The business – formerly known as Brian Hewitt Construction – is operated by husband and wife team Brian and Marjorie Hewitt and has the capacity to process 800 tonnes of structural steel per week.
In the strategic report accompanying the company accounts the directors declared the results for the year and the position of the company at the year end to be "satisfactory".
They said the increases in turnover and pre-tax profit was based upon "increased efficiencies in all divisions of the business", with an expectation of further strong performances in the years ahead.
"The company's order book for 2017 remains solid and the directors view the outlook for the company to be satisfactory," they said.
Founded in 1992, BHC makes and erects various steel products with a production capacity of 800 tonnes a week.
It started out catering for agricultural buildings, but has expanded to include services for retail, residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.
The company has a production facility in Lanarkshire and works across the agricultural, commercial, education, gas and oil, health, industrial and power sectors.
Its client list includes Aviva, Diageo, Galliford Try, Manchester City and RBS.
Among projects the firm has worked on are Holyrood Park House, Edinburgh; Glasgow Fort Retail Complex and the Xscape Indoor Ski and Entertainment Centre in Braehead.
BHC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Medwyn Holding Limited, the entire turnover of which related to BHC activities.
