Liverpool city region global metals and mineral inspection and analysis firm Alfred H Knight reveals big rise in revenues to £236.4m but sees pre-tax profits plummet for the second year in a row. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool city region global metals and mineral inspection and analysis firm Alfred H Knight (AHK) is reporting soaring revenues but plummeting pre-tax profits.
Prescot-based AHK, which employs more than 6,000 people across its group, has posted its accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, on Companies House. They show revenues up 15% to £236.4m.
However, pre-tax profits fell significantly for the second year in a row. Last year’s £14m figure was reduced to just £8.6m. Two years ago the company reported pre-tax profits of £19.3m. In the latest annual report the performance was described as “satisfactory”.
It was noted in the accounts by director David Knight that wage inflation remains higher than overall inflation and he warned that “growth must remain sustainable”.
He added: “The group remains cautious given the potential for inflationary pressures resulting from global conflict and tensions.”
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, it 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.
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.
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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.
Shareholders received £1m in dividends during the year and David Knight also said the company continues to make “significant investment” in it staff through its management development programme and apprenticeship and graduate schemes