Let joy be unconfined. This morning's year-end results from Domino feature something I haven't seen in a long, long time - that being a set of figures from a manufacturer featuring all plusses in the "change" column.
Okay, without sterling's frailty sales would have been down 11%, instead of up by one, but exporters like Domino have to live with the swings and roundabouts of exchange rate variances whatever the trading conditions, so it's as good a time as any to benefit from the upside. Trading has been impacted by reduced sales of both hardware and consumables, but the firm was quick to act in anticipation of the downturn by reducing its cost base. The end result being that Domino has been able to report its 31st year of uninterrupted growth - no mean feat for any business, and pretty exceptional in a global downturn. Even more encouraging, the firm states it is "optimistic" about the prospects for next year. No wonder the share price jumped up by 11.7p, or the best part of 4%, this morning.
So well done and hats off to this home grown success story. Domino has been in inkjet since way before it was anointed as print's next big thing. At one point the firm was perhaps best known as the company whose kit printed the "use by" information onto eggs. Nowadays the £256m turnover business is of course much, much more than that, and is also notable for successfully integrating a string of acquisitions. And with the best part of £30m in the bank it looks well placed to add more should the right opportunities present themselves.
In fact, even something as apparently simple as egg printing involves a whole heap of know-how: the food grade ink used needs to be fast-drying and self-disinfecting, as well as boil resistant. Now Domino is taking its considerable expertise into the four-colour inkjet printing field with what can be described as its first "press". This was shown in preview form at Labelexpo and we can expect to see a commercially available version by the time we get to Ipex next year. This is definitely going to be on my "must see" list.
Worth keeping an eye on, that's for sure. In the meantime, thanks for the welcome reminder that it's not all bad.
