T.O.M. chairman Hugh Stewart said today he was delighted by the company’s performance over the last year after it posted results showing turnover soaring by 62%.
Mr Stewart said the vehicle rental firm had trebled in size in the last three years and the latest figures reflected the “exceptional service” it provided.
Turnover at the Airdrie-based company surged from £38.4million to £62.4m to the year ended March 31 after an ambitious growth drive in the north of Scotland and Manchester.
Mr Stewart, who backs T.O.M. through his investment vehicle Coralinn LLP, said: “We are implementing our long term growth strategy which saw further substantial growth in sales and operating profitability in the year.
“We opened new facilities in Aberdeen and Nairn as part of our relationship with Mercedes Van and Truck and at the same time opened our first facility in England in Manchester.”
T.O.M. acquired the Aberdeen-based commercial vehicle division of John R Weir from the Arnold Clark dealership chain in September last year, opened a depot in Manchester in March and in the summer established a new site at Newmains, Lanarkshire. Customer reaction to all the developments has been “very favourable”.
There has also been a £350,000 investment in the company’s main site in Airdrie which included a revamp of its new parts retail area.
The expansion has seen staff numbers grow by about 100 to around 350 and 1124 vehicles were added to the fleet over the year bringing the current number to 4557.
Pre-tax profit of £1.3m was achieved despite a challenging year for many T.O.M. customers.
The directors said: “The macro-economic conditions did not improve meaning nearly all customers within the various business segments continue to experience cash flow pressures.
“However, the strategy implemented by the board to adapt to these challenges has proved appropriate.”
The annual report anticipates continued growth, turnover and profitability in the current year.
Mr Stewart said: “This year is progressing well and we have seen further growth in sales and profits.”
