Higher energy and labour costs fails to dent Taylors

Drycleaning and linen firm Taylors Group today announced a half year profit of $2.40 million, up 7.3 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

The company said operating revenue for the six months to December at $33.20 million was up 11.6 per cent.

Taylors will pay an interim dividend of 7 cps on March 25, up from the 5cps interim dividend last year.

Taylors chairman Geoff Ricketts said the company had seen pleasing growth in sales over the period but this had been offset by a number of factors. These included increased energy costs, delays in realising the benefits of integrating the company's Auckland operations and rising labour costs.

Mr Ricketts said the company's energy costs had increased by about 40 per cent over the six month period.

Meanwhile, the company's two Auckland laundry operations at Pt Chevalier and Avondale had been combined at Pt Chevalier from the beginning of the present financial year.

However, "the implementation targets set by management, believed to be aggressive but achievable given the forecast business activity, have not yet been fully achieved", Mr Ricketts said.

The company now expected the forecast benefits of the integration to be fully realised this year.

The company said rises in labour costs had outstripped growth in the volume of its business, largely as a result of changes to holidays legislation introduced last year.

A shortage of available labour was also contributing to cost increases.

Taylors shares were untraded at $2.44 this morning.

- NZPA