Gadget-maker JML sees profits decline by more than a quarter
JML, the household products maker set up by Labour donor and economist John Mills, said profits fell by more than a quarter last year despite a 12.4 per cent rise in sales.
The group sells quirky products such as Fast Fit Ironing Board Cover and its Shark steaming mops through its four television shopping channels and in 7,000 shops in the UK and abroad.
It was founded by Mills, whose brother David Mills is married to Tessa Jowell, in 1986 from his basement in Camden and now has over 300 staff working from its offices in Kentish Town.
Sales in 2013 increased to £95.7m from £85.2m the previous year, according to accounts filed for its parent company John Mills Limited.
However pre-tax profits fell 29 per cent to £5.8m after “difficult trading conditions in almost every territory” in which it operates.
A £3m interim dividend was paid out to shareholders. The group warned that a court case in the US could hurt profits this year.