Trifast reported revenue grew 31% to EUR 106.4 million (US$119.5 million) during the first half of fiscal 2022. Gross margin fell 80 basis points to 26.2%.

CEO Mark Belton estimated the global chip shortage cost the company around £4m in lost sales, but he remains confident of the sector’s future growth prospects, particularly in electric vehicles.

Net debt increased to £18.5m (from net cash of £500,000 at the year-end) as Trifast spent an additional £16.3m on increasing stock levels. It also shelled out £5.9m on its acquisition of the Falcon Fasteners Solutions business in the U.S.

Add in the continued investment in Project Atlas – a group-wide transformation of its IT infrastructure, costing £17.5m – and the prospects for short-term margin improvement don’t look spectacular.

Over the medium term, the company expects Project Atlas to deliver a 25% return on investment by improving information on things such as available inventory and group-wide purchasing. Trifast also said that spending on improving manufacturing capacity will feed through to its bottom line through gains in operational gearing. Web: Trifast.com