James Halstead plc, the Bury-based commercial flooring manufacturer, has named Finance Director Gordon Oliver as its new chief executive as the company reported a dip in annual sales. 

Oliver, a director of the firm since 1999, succeeds Mark Halstead as CEO. Halstead will become Executive Chairman. At the same time, Anthony Wild will step down as Chairman and David Drillingcourt will become Finance Director.

The changes come after a difficult year for the company. On Tuesday it reported revenue for the year of £274.9 million, down 9% from £303.6 million last year, which it attributed to “headwinds in the UK and Europe” and disruption to world trade routes as a result of the situation in the Red Sea, which extended delivery times to some export markets increased some freight transportation costs.

Profit before tax for the year was £56.2 million, up 8% from £52.1 million last year, helped by reducing some operational costs and running manufacturing plants for longer, to get better output volumes.