What will it take to be a future player in the UK metal treatments industry?

Citation

(2002), "What will it take to be a future player in the UK metal treatments industry?", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 49 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2002.12849daf.003

What will it take to be a future player in the UK metal treatments industry?

What will it take to be a future player in the UK metal treatments industry?Keywords: Metal treatments, United Kingdom, Industry

Taking a critical look at the Top 100 players in the market, Plimsoll has published a Future Players Analysis, which speculates on which companies will figure in the future of the industry.

The Analysis focuses on the key players, making suggestions of how the company will "move forward". Fastening on ten key areas of attention, the Analysis shows how current performance might change and how the company will respond to competition. Each company has been assessed on its own merits and its performance analysed to expose areas of strength and weakness.

Not holding back any punches, this analysis names 15 losing pace, three of which had sales of over £18 million. These companies are not alone in their retreat, as 18 other companies have been named that require a period of great change in order to compete.

Many companies have elected to capture market based on debt. While the risk associated with this strategy is high, the short-term effect on others is profound. This method of survival is in direct contrast with the 34 companies adopting a more "steady ship" approach. Of course, who can criticise a strategy of maximising profits, if only perhaps if it is at the expense of a place in the future of the industry?

The Top 100 Metal Treatments Future Players Analysis, carries two full pages of intense analyses per company with several added features never seen in a Plimsoll analysis before.

Plimsoll has determined the current and future value or worth of every one of the Top 100 companies in the Analysis. The report also predicts the likely strategy each company is to take over the next 12 months. The Analysis also lists the precise strengths and weaknesses of every company.

And finally, if looking for a company to buy, the Future Players Analysis names other companies in the metal treatments industry each company could realistically purchase. Flip-side, if ready to leave the game, why not take a look at the list of companies Plimsoll believe might be interested in buying you?

In a second report we are informed that 44 per cent of the metal treatments industry improved their company's performance last year, according to financial analysts Plimsoll Publishing. Plimsoll's New Analysis, 2nd ed., 2002, has been strengthened to appeal to the non-accountant as well as the accountant in understanding company performance figures.

Plimsoll's new UK metal treatments analysis, covering 1,000 companies, is believed to be its most comprehensive analysis to date. One of the new features of the Analysis awards each company with one of three "mood" indicators or faces to represent improvement or decline in performance.

These indicators are calculated on the overall "score" of the company's individual performance over the last 12 months. It is a combination of five key ratios. The basis of these ratios is simple, as any fall is a decline in financial performance and an increase is an improvement.

A total of 355 companies are showing a decline in their financial performance and are warranting a "bad" mood. While not all these companies are in serious difficulties, 253 or 71 per cent of companies are showing two consecutive "sad" face years, indicating difficulties caused by competitive markets or poor management of their affairs. These companies are showing these early signs of financial difficulties that can lead to the failure of the company.

Remarkably, 384 companies analysed showed an improvement in performance. "Most might see this as amazing. Yet the irony here is how so many in the industry can be seen as smiling, when there is so much poor economic and business news about. I believe that this figure proves that management are in control in these companies," says David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll.

The Plimsoll Analysis is aimed at managers, directors and decision makers who want to be better informed on competitor behaviour and yet who do not have the time or skills to fully understand how to analyse a competitor's performance.

Details available from: Plimsoll Publishing Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1642 626400; Fax: +44 (0)1642 626410; E-mail: plimsoll@dial.pipex.com; Web site: www.plimsoll.co.uk