Ultimate Products (UPGS) has reported a 42% rise in pre-tax profits as consumers demand energy saving and efficient products during the cost of living crisis.
“We’re seeing a big emphasis on products that save money,” commented Andrew Gossage, md of Ultimate Products, while talking live to Sky News.
Asked about congestion in supply chain, Andrew told Sky News: “It’s easing as an issue, we’re not back to normal, but compared to up to 12 months ago it’s much more straight forward. For example we were paying up to $12,000 per container, now we’re paying less than $3,000 which is helpful. Reliability isn’t back to normal but we’re getting there.”
On the subject of pricing during the cost of living crisis, Andrew offered a very balanced reply, stating: “We don’t really plan to pass on cost increases; in terms of our input costs they’re broadly level. We had a lot of cost inflation last year, we dealt with that – we are seeing inflation from currency but that’s being offset with costs on shipping. We see our mission to provide beautiful products for everyone, seeing ourselves as advocates of the ‘squeezed middle’, so our job is to make sure that the value we deliver makes peoples lives better and that’s no more important than at the current time.”
The interview further probed Andrew on China lockdowns (affecting offices), the Salter acquisition and more.
See the full interview here:
