Results show JW Filshill is in “strong position”

Turnover increase caps positive year for Scottish wholesaler

There were increases across the board for JW Filshill as the Scottish wholesaler announced its results for the year ending 31 January 2019.

The highlight was a 7.3% rise in turnover to £155 million, along with consistent gross profit of 8.3% and an increase in the value of its net current assets to £10.3m.

One of Scotland’s most-established food and drink wholesalers, the business says the strong growth over the past 12 months was reflected across all product categories.

The results come against the backdrop of difficult conditions, in particular the Brexit process that has “added a level of uncertainty to the business as it has done across all industries” according to Finance Director Keith Geddes, although it hasn’t deterred the wholesaler from moving forward with plans to grow – including a proposed move to a new distribution centre at Westway Park near Glasgow Airport.

“We believe we’ve taken the necessary steps to minimise the associated risks and take advantage of the corresponding opportunities,” said Geddes.

“The living wage, pension regulation and fuel prices continue to drive up our cost base. However, we continue to focus on offsetting these increases through a constant drive in improving operational efficiency and maximising our use of technology and data.”

Despite the challenges, JW Filshill appears to be flourishing with Managing Director Simon Hannah’s approach focusing on partnership-based relationships with suppliers and customer service at the heart of that success.

“We seek to manage the principal risk of losing customers by aiming to deliver best-in-class customer service and we’re well positioned to continue to take advantage of the opportunities we’re creating and delivering growth,” said Hannah (pictured above).

“The directors are pleased with the company performance and are confident that profits will continue at a satisfactory level.

“We’re in a strong position given current market conditions and while we continue to measure revenue, gross margin and operating profit as key financial indicators, we also monitor non-financial KPIs, including staff performance, vehicle-fuel performance, sales service levels/range achievements, unanswered telesales calls, returned orders and early warning date codes as part of our business performance review.”

Glasgow growth JW Filshill results Scotland Simon Hannah