Sterling Pharma Solutions has seen revenues and profits soar following a year of record new business and job creation.
The manufacturer, which opened its Cramlington base 53 years ago, specialises in developing and making active pharmaceutical ingredients for customers around the globe, and its list of clients has grown significantly, triggering multimillion-pound expansion. Last year the firm began a £10m investment programme into creating new development laboratories, as well as installing manufacturing equipment to meet growth in demand.
Now the firm has published accounts covering the year ended March 31 2022, showing a 44% increase in revenue, from £82.4m to £118.6m, while operating profit almost doubled from £16.6m to £31.2m. Profit for the financial year was £20.4m, up from £8.02m.
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The firm – which has four facilities in the UK and US with a fifth acquisition on the horizon – said its growth came as it continued to invest, despite global uncertainty in the Covid-19 pandemic, with Sterling also creating 49 new jobs in the period to support the growth, taking employee numbers to 577. Since the year end, more than 80 additional jobs have been created.
In a report accompanying the accounts, Kevin Cook, CEO of Sterling Pharma Solutions, said: “Sterling continues to experience strong interest in the business offering. In FY22 a record value of new business was won. Based upon the current order position, the significant sales potential of a number of new products currently under development at the company, and the large portfolio of new business opportunities being pursued, the directors are confident that the company will continue to increase sales and profitability.”
Mr Cook said the firm is monitoring inflationary pressures and that it continues to monitor national and global supply chain developments, to ensure it can respond and adapt quickly again if needed.
Major projects taking shape at the Dudley base include significant expansion to increase manufacturing capacity, with detailed designs being carried out during the year. Its anaerobic digestion project was also built and commissioned, in a scheme which generates revenue by converting waste streams into Biomethane which is injected into the national grid, to further boost its green credentials.
Further expansion with new plant was also started, while detailed designs are also under way for its Material Science Centre laboratory expansion.
Following publication of the accounts, Mr Cook, said: “Over the last financial year we continued with our strategic growth, investing in our four facilities and our employees. Later this year we also expect to complete the acquisition of a fifth facility near Cork in Ireland.
“At our Cramlington site the workforce continues to grow, with over 650 employees on site with further recruitment taking place. We have also recently built and commissioned an £11.5m anaerobic digestion plant, which will provide our site with energy from the waste materials in our manufacturing processes. Our Ecovadis Gold certification for sustainability means that the Cramlington site is recognised as being in the top 4% of all companies assessed globally, and the top 1% of pharmaceutical companies.
“We are proud to be manufacturing lifesaving medicines from our headquarters in Cramlington, and our growth since 2016 means that we now do the same from two sites in the USA, and, from 2023, in Europe.”
