Despite tough trading conditions, Scottish timber importer and engineering company James Donaldson & Sons Ltd has posted a strong set of annual results and profit growth for the eight consecutive year.

Group turnover increased by 6.2% to £44.2m, with operating profits up 9.6% to £2.1m for the year 2003/4, bolstered by an expansion of the UK housing market.

The company’s subsidiaries also had successful years. Donaldson Timber Engineering (DTE), a leading manufacturer of engineered roof trusses and supplier of engineered timber floors, increased turnover to £27.2m and net profits by 10% to £1.53m.

Over the period, DTE undertook a significant expansion. Two new factories were opened, one in Ipswich and one in the Republic of Ireland – the group’s first factory outside the UK. Together, the two factories marked over £3m of investment, increasing the number of DTE facilities to eight.

DTE spent a further £2m in the latest roof truss technology. Designed and manufactured in Australia, the machinery is claimed to be a European ‘first’, giving DTE a capacity of 20,000 roof trusses a week.

At importing and sawmilling subsidiary James Donaldson Timber, turnover increased from £15.2m to £17.5m, with profits up by 8.5% to £560,000. Volumes of processed timber sold rose to 103,000m3 – or an average of 15 40ft articulated lorries leaving the sawmill daily.

The group’s chairman Neil Donaldson was pleased with the results: “Each part of the company has increased its performance and the results are indicative of the good health of the group.”