Folding bike maker Brompton gears up international sales as profit passes milestone

A surge in international sales helped Brompton, the folded bikes company popular with London commuters, report a jump in its turnover and profit.

According to newly-filed accounts for the year to March 31, 2023, the London-headquartered company achieved a turnover of £129.4m, up from £106.8m.

Its pre-tax profit also grew from £7.3m to £10.6m over the same period.

The accounts have been filed with Companies House more than five months after the deadline of December, 31, 2023.

Bike sales decreased from 93,460 to 91,785 as a result of “challenging conditions in the cycling industry driven by the wider global economic uncertainty and the market normalising post Covid”.

Brompton’s UK sales increased from £33m to £33.5m and from £29.3m to £31m in Europe while they surged from £44.5m to £64.8m in the rest of the world.

Doing the year the average number of people employed by Brompton rose from 708 to 805.

Brompton said the rise in pre-tax profit was “in part due to a change in accounting policy in the year to elect to capitalise development related expenditure in respect of new product innovation”.

It added: “The updated accounting policy will ensure more consistent and transparent financial reporting for the group.

“This change is fundamentally rooted in the accounting principle of matching.

“By doing so, we ensure that the expenses related to product development are aligned and recognised alongside the revenues they are expected to generate in the future.”