Revenues break through £200m at analysis firm

Liverpool city region-based global metals and mineral inspection and analysis firm Alfred H Knight sees annual revenues pass £200m with £3m in dividends going to shareholders. Tony McDonough reports

Alfred H Knight employs more than 4,000 people worldwide. Picture by Alfred H Knight

 

Metals and mineral inspection and analysis firm Alfred H Knight (AHK) is reporting another big rise in annual revenues.

Knowsley-based AHK, which employs more than 4.200 people around the world, is reporting sales of £202.3m for the 12 months to December 31, 2023. This is 14.8% higher than 2022.

However, pre-tax profits for the year were down to £19.3m from £24.8m in the previous year. In its annual report just posted on Companies House, AHK points out that 2022 was its best-ever year for profitability. AHK will pay a final dividend of just over £3m.

In the report it said: “2023 should be set in the context that 2022 was an extremely strong year for the group when it delivered its best-ever result.

“Turnover continues to grow as the group exploits the opportunities presented to it while it continues to heavily invest in its people, from apprentices to graduates, alongside its management development programme and continues to recruit at all levels.”

Founded by Alfred Henry Knight in 1881, the company began its life in Swansea providing independent inspection and analytical services to the metals and minerals industry. Since the mid-1980s its headquarters have been in Merseyside.

Still run by the Knight family, AHK is now established as an international organisation, with a network of offices and laboratories in more than 45 countries around the world.

It moved from Eccleston Grange, St Helens to a larger premise in King’s Business Park in Prescot in 2015, subsequently extending its footprint by investing in the new purpose-built John Knight Laboratory in 2017.

Having outgrown this laboratory, a new Copper laboratory was developed a short distance away in Knowsley Business Park.

AHK plays an essential role in the global commodity supply chain that provides essential services for finished products. These include medical devices, electronics and sensors, and industries such as energy, utilities, automotive and aerospace.

It is also enjoying growth thanks to the increasing demand for renewable energy. It has pursued opportunities involving recycled materials to support the growth of battery technology.

 

Alfred H Knight is a metals and mineral inspection and analysis business

 

In the report it added: “The group continues to expand into complementary business lines and to pursue new opportunities involving recycled materials and new energy storage materials to support the group in battery technology.

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“The energy services division has expanded in the biomass, recycling and waste sectors and delivered a strong result after several years of investment. The newly-formed agricultural division will expand the group’s capability in new markets.”

Directors of AHK received total remuneration, including salaries and pension contributions, of around £1.19m. The highest paid director received £898,185.

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