Coats Group opens new trading year with sales 20% ahead

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 19, 2022

Threads giant Coats Group said Wednesday it's enjoying “strong sales momentum” in the first four months of the new trading year, with group sales growing 20% year-on-year.

In its trading update ahead of today’s AGM, Coats said its core apparel and footwear division also saw “very strong volume growth”, with sales up 21% for the period.
 
That success was driven by “industry inventory restocking, buffer buying to support supply chain disruption, and a continued underlying market recovery”.

Meanwhile, its performance materials division reported growth of 16%, due to “strong pricing and double-digit growth in both personal protection and composites”, with “strong growth” across Asia, EMEA, and the Americas. 
 
Coats added: “Pricing and productivity actions had been successfully implemented and were continuing to offset inflationary pressures in the supply chain, supporting margin progression across both divisions.
 
“We continue to focus on executing our plans in the current macro-economic conditions. Price leadership, productivity programmes, and strategic projects underpin our performance. Our outlook for the year remains unchanged,” it said.
 
Earlier this month, Coats signed an agreement to sell its businesses in Brazil and Argentina saying its exit from the South America ops was "in line with strategic initiatives", announced in March, “to accelerate profitable sales growth and transform the company”.