GORDONS Chemists has signed off on an exceptional trading year after its turnover rose to more than £80m and it doubled its bottom line profits.
The chain - which began as a single pharmacy in Donaghadee in 1980 founded by brothers Robert and Neil Gordon - also increased its gross margin from 32.3 per cent to 33.8 per cent in the year to the end of last April, its latest accounts show.
The family-run company, which is registered as D Shannon Stewart Ltd, operates more than 50 dispensing chemist outlets across Northern Ireland and another nine in Scotland.
The firm also sells a range of fragrance, make-up, skincare, electrical, and beauty products. In addition to its network of stores, it also runs the Gordons Direct website.
Its overall trading position continues to improve as it maintained increases in turnover going back around a decade.
Sales jumped from £76.8m to £80.6m over the period, and this has been reflected in an increase in operating profit from £2.8m to £5.1m. Its after-tax profit doubled from £1.8m to £3.7m.
The company - whose head office is in Banbridge - is now sitting on net assets of £3.7m against what was a liability of more than £2m a year ago.
Employment in the group increased to an average of 655 people compared to 645 in 2014/2015, which pushed up its overall wages bill (which includes directors' salaries) from £10.5m to £11.2m.
A strategic report by the company's directors which accompanied the results said that they were satisfied with performance and did not expect any major changes. They have not recommended a dividend.
