Petersfield sale boosts Perkins Slade profit

Perkins Slade made a profit of £388,960 for the year to 31 August 2010, up 370% from the £82,781 it made the previous financial year.

The Birmingham-based broker’s sale of its Petersfield operations at the end of 2009 resulted in a one-off gain of £466,969 to the 2009/2010 results.

However the operating result, which excludes the one-off Petersfield gain, was a profit of £14,766 in 2009/2010 compared with a loss of £15,302 in 2008/2009.

Perkins Slade chief executive Nick Tamblyn attributed the improvement to a combination of cost control and growth of new clients.

However, he added that 2009/2010 was a difficult financial year, as clients suffered the effects of the recessionary environment and cut their insurance spend. Accordingly, Perkins Slade’s turnover dipped to £5.9m from £6.8m.

“The results showed a still- tough economic climate out there but I think the business faired well in it,” Tamblyn said. “We benefited from the sale of our Petersfield office which created a one-off gain, but ignoring that we were still ahead of the operating profit of earlier years.”

Perkins Slade 2009/2010 highlights in £ (compared with 2008/2009)

• Turnover: 5,867,800 (6,801,326)
• Administrative expenses: 5,853,034 (6,743,652)
• Operating profit: 14,766 (15,302)
• Profit before tax: 537,099 (141,159)
• Profit after tax: 388,960 (82,781)