Furniture manufacturer ercol has reported a slight decline in sales as losses widened.

According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023, total sales fell 6.7% to £18.8m from £20.2m in 2022.

EBITDA stood at £119,000, down from £294,000, while pre-tax losses resulted at £631,000, widening from a loss of £283,000 recorded in the previous year.

UK sales were down 5.1% to £18.4m from £19.4m, while EU sales fell to £81,000 from £236,000. Rest of the world sales declined to £385,000 from £495,000.

Stated within its report, the company said: “2023 turned out to be a tough year in terms of financial performance after two previously Covid-19 influenced periods. Turnover fell, which is unfortunate given that order intake for the year was actually up 5.5%.

“Unfortunately, the brought forward order book from 2022 was light compared to the previous year and although overall order intake for 2023 was strong, this was particularly so in the second half of the year meaning much of it came too late to be fulfilled in 2023. Ultimately that has meant a positive start to 2024.

“Gross margin decreased slightly from 30.3% to 30%. The slight fall was due to carriage, electricity and direct wages with the latter being mitigated by continued efficiency improvements from the factory.”