Registered number:
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
COMPANY INFORMATION
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
CONTENTS
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The principal activity of the company is the quarrying, mining, and manufacture of Portland Stone from its landholdings on the Island of Portland. The processing of our stone is carried out at the factory into slabs, cladding, paving, flooring, masonry, and walling stone.
The group maintained its strong order intake and continues to invest in quarry, mining, and factory plant to ensure a continued delivery of quality products to its client base. When considering the lasting impacts of the broader market, such as the pandemic, Ukraine war and Brexit, cost pressures have been managed. Long-term orders helped to reduce strain on supply chain impacts and a focus on maintaining customer relations led to similar levels of turnover and profitability.
The results for the year have maintained the group’s balance sheet with a small increase in net current assets and no bank debt. We have focused on environmental performance and prepared an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which shows a continued reduction in our embodied carbon with additional offset by our solar panel installation, which continues to reduce the company’s environmental footprint and energy reliance. Output from mining has increased availability of quality Whitbeds. Perryfield Mine has increased lower-level extraction and Coombefield Mine brings to the market an historic Whitbed favoured amongst Architects and contractors. Broadcroft remains an open cast quarry with high levels of tight grained stock available for short notice and just in time projects. Access to extant large open cast mineral reserves is subject to an ongoing mining application. We remain committed to investing in energy saving initiatives and manufacturing practices that will reduce impacts in the coming years. The masonry market remains steady, and we anticipate efficiencies in extraction to continue to improve our competitiveness. We have included a prior year adjustment to represent the value of investment property held by the group. The effect is to increase the carrying value of land by £1.5m and deferred tax by £375k.
The principal risks to the business would be a downturn in the core commercial development market of London. Stalled projects, when considering the pandemic, remain a concern within the industry as more home working has led to a reduction in office space requirements. The company remains competitive in the market to achieve all business opportunities whilst being conscious of external factors that may bring additional cost pressures. We retain certainty of work in the medium term as existing projects carry through established programmes.
The group's key financial performance indicators during the year were as follows:
2024 2023 Turnover £4,215,403 £4,624,430 Gross profit £1,285,876 £1,677,028 Profit before tax £49,017 £478,086. The balance sheet remains strong showing net assets of £8.5m and net current assets of £1.2m.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The group's key other performance indicators during the year were as follows:
2024 2023 Cubic metres of viable stone extracted 4,123 5,248
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The directors are responsible for preparing the Group strategic report, the Directors' report and the consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:
∙select suitable accounting policies for the Group's financial statements and then apply them consistently;
∙make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
∙prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group will continue in business.
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and the Group and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The profit for the year, after taxation, amounted to £36,423 (2023 - £239,926).
The Directors do not propose payment of a dividend.
The directors who served during the year were:
Considering the cash position, order book, banking facilities available and the potential for additional borrowing based on the investment property and other assets held by the group. The Directors have concluded that the group is a going concern for a period of at least the next 12 months from the approval of these accounts and have prepared these accounts on that basis.
We continued to place great emphasis on staff training and the health and safety of our employees to not only meet our legal obligations but as part of our retention policies for our skilled workforce.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
DIRECTORS' REPORT (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
There have been no significant events affecting the Group since the year end.
The auditors, Xeinadin Audit Limited, will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
We have audited the financial statements of Portland Stone Firms Limited (the 'parent Company') and its subsidiaries (the 'Group') for the year ended 31 March 2024, which comprise the Consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Company Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, the Company Statement of Changes in Equity and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Group's or the parent Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors' report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
∙the information given in the Group strategic report and the Directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
∙the Group strategic report and the Directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and the parent Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Group strategic report or the Directors' report.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditors' report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these Group financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the group and determined that the most significant are those that relate to the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements such as the UK reporting framework, UK company law and UK tax legislation. Other laws and regulations that are fundamental to the operating aspects of the business include health and safety regulations (particularly as they relate to mining and quarrying), environmental regulations, land and planning regulations and employment law. We assessed the risk of material misstatement in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulations as follows: - Enquiring of management concerning actual or potential litigation or claims; and - Reviewing legal and professional costs for evidence of any expenditure in relation to potential litigation or claims. We assessed the risk of material misstatement in respect of irregularities and fraud as follows: - Enquiring of management concerning actual and potential instances of fraud, as well assessing areas in the financial statements that are at risk of material misstatement due to fraud; - Assessing the risk of management override of controls via a review of accounting entries, estimates and the testing of journal entries; - Seeking explanations and evidence for any significant transactions outside the normal course of business; - Performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud; - Testing revenue recognition to source documentation; and - Maintaining professional scepticism and challenging explanations provided by management, particularly where we found evidence of internal control weaknesses.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditors' report.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED (CONTINUED)
This report is made solely to the Company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the Company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
for and on behalf of
Chartered Accountants
Registered Auditor
Wadebridge House
16 Wadebridge Square
Dorset
DT1 3AQ
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
REGISTERED NUMBER: 02912016
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
REGISTERED NUMBER: 02912016
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED)
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 20 to 41 form part of these financial statements.
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
REGISTERED NUMBER: 02912016
COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
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PORTLAND STONE FIRMS LIMITED
REGISTERED NUMBER: 02912016
COMPANY BALANCE SHEET (CONTINUED)
AS AT 31 MARCH 2024
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 20 to 41 form part of these financial statements.
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