Snorkel back in the black

MEWP manufacturer Snorkel is back in profit after a strong sales quarter, according to one of its shareholders.

Tanfield Group PLC, which owns a 49% interest in Snorkel International Holdings LLC, is reporting that Snorkel’s net sales in the third quarter rose 21% to $52.1 million from $42.4m in the third quarter of 2022. This saw the company make a net profit of $638,000, compared to a net loss of $3.8 million in the same quarter last year. At the same time, Tanfield stated that Snorkel’s costs of goods rose 13% from $39.5m to $44.5m.

Tanfield Group has had a fractious history with Nevada-based Xtreme Manufacturing which purchased a 51% stake in Snorkel from Tanfield in 2013. Legal wranglings around transferring the remaining 49% stake to Xtreme have rumbled on for several years. The case is finally due to go before a US jury next year.

In its update to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Tanfield noted that it was “fully focussed on the US proceedings which are continuing and while the jury trial was previously scheduled to take place in early 2024, in part as a result of Tanfield’s amended counterclaims earlier in the year, the board now expects a new trial date to be set around the end of 2024 instead.

“The board continues to believe that a positive outcome to the proceedings is possible. So far as it is necessary, the company will continue to vigorously defend its position whilst continuing to seek appropriate advice.”