Tokheim confident of bright future

Dundee-based fuel pump maker Tokheim is expecting “a dramatically improved set of trading results” this year according to its finance director.

The West Pitkerro company’s total turnover was £53.9 million for the eight months to December last year, with the manufacturing division achieving revenue of £40.2m and sales and servicing £13.7m.

Total pre-tax profit was £14.87m, with manufacturing suffering a loss of £7.67m and sales and servicing reporting a profit of £22.54m.

Finance chief Alastair Johnston said the figures for the period from May 1 to December 31 last year were not reflective of Tokheim’s overall performance and were not comparable.

They covered the period prior to the takeover of French-owned Tokheim’s dispenser manufacturing operations by the US-based Dover Corporation in January 2016.

“The accounts for 2015 contain one-off costs related to the acquisition which will not be repeated,” he said.

“The figures for sales and service operations were presented as discontinued operations because they were not acquired by Dover.

“It is important to stress that 2015 was another strong year for Tokheim and our volumes remained high.

“The new owners see there being no deterioration in terms of our volumes.

“The takeover and the financial restructuring have set the UK business on a sound footing, and the expectation for 2016 is a dramatically improved set of trading results.”

Tokheim has tentative proposals to expand its West Pitkerro site which could lead to 300 staff being added to the existing workforce of around 400.

In August The Courier reported the factory was set to benefit from a new £1.5 million investment for a new stateof-the-art fuel dispenser.

Tokheim said the potential effect of the Brexit vote on the UK business environment and the company was unclear as negotiations for the UK to exit the EU are yet to begin.

Europe was by far Tokheim’s biggest market in the eight months to December 2015, accounting for 74% (£39.9m) of the total revenue of £53.9m.

The firm says its prospects are good under its new US ownership.