From crisis to growth – 2012 report on publically-listed manufacturers

The UK Manufacturing Plc share price index has trebled since 2009, outperforming the FTSE 250, while other sectors average share prices’ have remained flat or fallen. Why?

Strong performance among this group of large, listed manufacturers is often driven by the focus on eight core survival areas and going after emerging markets early, says the report by PwC.

The business advisors’ report ‘From Crisis to Growth’ shows that someone investing in UK Manufacturing Plcs – a selection of the bigger, FTSE-listed engineering firms – would have doubled their money over the past five years.

The report found that in recession, companies in the sector tend to focus on eight key areas for survival including scenario planning, supply chain risk mitigation, R&D and focusing much more on the customer.

It asked a pool of companies in 2010 what they would focus on to stave off recession, then analysed their financial performance in 2012, linking the results to their strategies.