War in Ukraine and ‘suppressed’ global demand for steel products blamed as annual sales plummet by £72.3m at Liverpool scrap firm S Norton Group. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool family-owned scrap firm S Norton Group is reporting annual revenues of just under £345m – £72.3m lower than the previous year.
In its annual accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2023, just published on Companies House, S Norton blamed the war in Ukraine, “malaise’ in the Chinese economy and the “relentless decline” of the Turkish lira for the downturn.
However, despite the fall in revenues, the company did stay in the black with a pre-tax profit just above £1m, down from just over £1.9m in 2022. This, the business says, was down to good decision-making, process improvements and management of stock levels.
Based in Regent Road in the city’s northern docklands, the S Norton collects, processes and distributes around 1.5m tonnes of recycled metals each year. As well as its Liverpool site it also operates from Manchester, Southampton, London and Glasgow.
In 2021 it generated a record turnover of £490m and record profits of more than £66m.
However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine early in 2022 triggered turmoil in its global markets.
Founded in 1962 the company recycles both ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal from sources such as car manufacturers, demolition companies, metal merchants, civic amenity sites and from the trade and general public.
S Norton exports to customers all over the world and recycles 95% of all materials it processes, with a target of sending zero waste to landfill. In 2023 it employed 377 people.
Until June this year the owners of the business were family members John Harry, Charles Harry and Matthew Harry. However, John Harry, who was chairman of S Norton, sadly died in June 2024 leaving Charles and Matthew as joint owners.
Writing in the annual report another family member, and director, Paul Harry, said: “John was a hugely respected man and a leading light in the industry for more than half a century.
“Though he can never be replaced, his family and the wider board are determined to use the remarkable legacy he leaves behind to develop the business further.”
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On the financial performance of the group, Paul said: “The downturn in economic conditions that began in 2022 proved to be a sustained one and some of the underlying factors that brought it about have persisted into 2023 and beyond.
“The year started quite well… but it soon became clear that any improvement in market conditions would be short-lived.”
Although the trading environment remained “subdued” going into 2024, he added, he insisted the future for the scrap metal recycling industry “remains bright” thanks to the demand for “cleaner, green products”.
Directors received a total remuneration, including salaries and pension benefits, of more than £1.6m. The highest paid director received £302,000. No dividend was paid to shareholders for the second year in a row.