Bright outlook as windows firm CR Smith maintains sales during lockdown

Glazing and home extensions business CR Smith said it had seen demand hold up during the pandemic as it reported solid annual numbers.

Accounts for CR Smith Glaziers (Dunfermline) Limited, the Fife firm’s domestic sales business, reveal turnover of just over £23.5 million for the year ending December 31, 2020.

The accounts reflect a 16-month trading period to account for a four-month total shut down due to the pandemic. In the previous full-year period the business generated sales of £23.9m.

Profit after tax in the latest period amounted to £88,258, compared with £103,845 previously.

Gerard Eadie CBE is the executive chairman of CR Smith, which is headquartered in Fife. Picture by Lesley Martin

The firm said it had swiftly introduced more flexible operational procedures to reflect the new trading environment, while capitalising on new digital communications with customers.

CR Smith Manufacturing Ltd, the group’s trade business, will be reported separately.

Gerard Eadie, executive chairman of Dunfermline-headquartered CR Smith, a company he has owned for more than 46 years, said: “We continually look at how we can innovate. Even during the pandemic, that approach hasn’t changed.

“And while this has been an extremely challenging period, we’ve kept looking forward, kept looking at how to make improvements and how best to serve our customers. From what we’ve been able to achieve over the past few months, we are now confidently planning for growth.

“Over the past 18 months, we’ve all had to adapt to new and unprecedented challenges both personally and at work.

“I would like to thank our customers for their understanding and to our staff for their resilience, even as things changed on a regular basis.”

Company director George Eadie added: “The accounts lodged show the underlying strength of the company and that the measures put in place once the pandemic hit are now bearing fruit.

“Orders for new windows, doors and extended living spaces have continued strongly over the past few months as people’s focus centred on the home.

“Confident in our ability to manage the challenges ahead, we invested in both product design, bringing to market a new iteration of our Lorimer range and in our digital infrastructure to accommodate virtual appointments, quotes and ordering systems,” he added.

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