Ceramic Industry is Thriving According Plimsoll Report - News Item

The ceramics goods market is thriving, according to financial analysts Plimsoll Publishing, who identified 46 UK ceramic goods companies who increased their collective market share by 8% last year.

David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll, said, ‘There is a real shift happening within the industry and these 46 companies are an early sign of where the market is going. What makes these companies so fascinating is that they are competing in the same industry and against the same market conditions as the other 954 companies in the analysis, yet their ability to increase sales is spectacular.’

The 46 leading companies increased their market share from 24% to 32% and sustained an average growth of 17%, compared with growth of only 2% achieved by the other companies. This represented an increase in market size to £2.2 billion, from £1.7 billion in the previous year. Gaining market share, however, is not without risk, as 10 of these high-achieving companies are showing signs of serious financial pressure. Pressure is also being placed by these companies on the rest of the market, with a record 46% of the industry failing to increase sales last year as competition intensifies.

Plimsoll has recently added a ceramic goods tool to its Electronic Plimsoll Portfolio Analysis software. The software provides an interactive analysis of the top 1,000 ceramic goods companies, aimed at time-starved managers. This means that electronic financial analysis of competing companies across the ceramics industry can be carried out easily.

Posted September 2003