Financial Year 20/21 Overview

Financial year 20/21 closed at the end of August and it was one of the most challenging in Falcon’s history. Considering the circumstances, overall the company performed well and I thank everyone for the part you have played in this.

Prior to the covid pandemic we shared our new strategy. This included 3 key elements:

1. New products for new markets, in particular healthcare
2. Expanding our direct dealer accounts
3. Improving our customer experience

These remain the key elements of our strategy today. For example:

• So far in 2021 we have launched almost 40 new products manufactured in our factory to the market, many of which take us into new markets that Falcon would traditionally not have operated in, such as the health and care sector. 
• We have also opened over 150 new dealer accounts and sales through our wholesale partner Axon remain strong
• We have also received an industry award for customer service, recognising the service and support we’ve been able to provide during the last 12-18 months. It’s fair to say that the 3rd part of the strategy has been the hardest to deliver given all of the challenges so that makes the Award an even greater achievement.

By focussing on these 3 elements, we have been able to recover faster than the competition, although it will still take us time to fully recover from the impact of Covid, which had significant consequences for our sales:

• Our sales for financial year 19/20 were around 25% less than normal
• Our sales for financial year 20/21 were around 15% less than normal

The covid pandemic stretched our financial resources too, but we hope to recover this throughout the next 12 months.

Despite all the challenges, 2021 has seen a lot of positives for the business, including: 

• We became the first UK manufacturer to achieve UKCA certification
• The first manufacturer to develop a fully connected kitchen solution
• The first commercial catering manufacturer in the world to be certified to make hydrogen products
• The first manufacturer in the world to launch a fryer with safety sensor technology that actually cuts power if sensor tripped
• Our range of healthcare products has seen us recognised as the exclusive partner to Apetito

All of this will help our continued recovery throughout the next 12 months.

Financial year 2022 started in September and got off to a good start as we beat our target in the first month. Unfortunately we missed target in October and so need to recover that with a strong result in November.

As much as there is a lot to be positive about, we still have a number of challenges:

• Covid remains an issue for Falcon and the world in general and it’s imperative we all still follow the relevant covid guidelines
• Raw material shortages are impacting Falcon and many other manufacturers globally. We don’t foresee that improving significantly in the short term.
• Raw material prices and freight costs continue to rise and overall our market remains extremely challenging
• Our customer on-time delivery has slipped in recent months, October was 74%
• We are also starting to experience more quality issues 

Regardless of all the challenges we are continuing our recovery faster than our competition and by all working together we will continue to recover faster.

I would ask each of you to focus on our 3 strategic elements and to focus on delivering high-quality products on time to our customers. By delivering great products on time regardless of the challenges we face we will build really solid foundations for us to be successful in the years to come.

One of the reasons we have performed better than most in the last 18 months is that you have all worked together and supported each other. Please continue to work together as one team and support your colleagues along the way. Thank you once again for all your support.

Thank you all 

Peter