In the first half of 2024, Johnson Service Group (JSG), a textile and workwear firm, reported growth in both revenue and operational profit, the latter seeing a near third increase. The business, following its acquisition of the Ireland-based Celtic Linen the previous year, made further headway in expansion by procuring Empire Linen Services for £20.6 million. This acquisition has extended their scope of services to premium hotels in London and the region of South East.
The business noticed a significant 5.7 per cent increase in organic revenue compared to the preceding year’s first half, while the overall revenue went up 13.5 per cent, reaching £244.1 million for the period of six months. Simultaneously, the proportion of energy costs to revenue declined during this period, with the majority of expenses anticipated to remain constant for the remaining year.
JSG reported that new sales activities had escalated and a robust pipeline was being established in sectors like Hotel, Restaurant and Catering (HORECA) and Workwear. Despite unseasonal bad weather in the second quarter, the hotel and catering sector displayed an increase in volume due to the servicing of more rooms, and the establishing of predictable patterns. Workwear sector stayed consistent during the year’s first half.
The company is maintaining its objective of a 14 per cent margin improvement by 2026. Group’s CEO, Peter Egan, praised the strong financial and operational outcome for the duration. He added that a noteworthy yearly profitability rise and firm customer retention were the key highlights. He emphasised on the company’s commitment to expanding organically, enhancing operational efficiencies with targeted capital investment and the ongoing betterment of their work practices. In addition to this, the firm is also emphasising broadening their geographical reach by executing profit-increasing acquisitions, a clear illustration of which is the procurement of Empire.
Egan also talked about their dedicated efforts to manage variable costs while ensuring customer retention remains strong. He further mentioned considerable sales achievements in the second quarter of 2024, which is expected to positively influence the rest of the year and into 2025.
The company has extended its bank facility of £120 million to August 2027. Egan stated that the group is matching the expected performance and predicted that the year-end would see a robust progression towards the prior levels of adjusted operating margin and adjusted operating profit.