Metal Drum Company Limited(The)
Registered name: METAL DRUM COMPANY LIMITED(THE)
Metal Drum Company Limited(The) made £16.2m revenue and £1.9m profit in the year to 31 May 2025.
Metal Drum Company Limited(The)’s revenue grew 13% to £16.2m in the year to 31 May 2025, with £1.9m profit and 71 employees. The company is classified under “manufacture of steel drums and similar containers” and is based in Co Durham; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Co Durham, North East
- Age
- 65 yrs · since 1961
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently. From the filing: “The company is controlled by S Britton.”
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 31 May 2022 | 31 May 2023 | 31 May 2024 | 31 May 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £17.4m | £15.7m | £14.3m | £16.2m |
| Cost of sales | £13.7m | £11.7m | £10.7m | £11.6m |
| Gross profit | £3.7m | £4.1m | £3.6m | £4.6m |
| Operating profit | £2m | £2.1m | £1.4m | £2.3m |
| Profit before tax | £2m | £2.1m | £1.6m | £2.6m |
| Profit after tax | £1.5m | £1.7m | £1.2m | £1.9m |
| Profit (best available) | £1.5m | £1.7m | £1.2m | £1.9m |
| Staff costs | £2m | £2.2m | £2.4m | £2.9m |
| Employees (average) | 69 | 69 | 71 | 71 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 8.8% | 10.8% | 8.6% | 11.9% |
| Gross margin | 21.3% | 25.9% | 25% | 28.4% |
| Revenue per employee | £252k | £228k | £202k | £229k |
| Profit per employee | £22.2k | £24.7k | £17.3k | £27.2k |
| Cash conversion | 42.2% | 147.4% | 94.9% | 122.1% |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼9.6% | ▼9% | ▲13.3% |
| Profit growth | — | ▲11.2% | ▼27.8% | ▲57.1% |
| Headcount growth | — | 0% | ▲2.9% | 0% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £2.7m | £3.5m | £3.1m | £4m |
| Net assets | £7.1m | £8.8m | £9.8m | £11.4m |
| Fixed assets | £2.3m | £4m | £4.9m | £6.2m |
| Current assets | £8.8m | £8.7m | £9.5m | £11m |
| Debtors | £3.2m | £2.4m | £2.7m | £2.7m |
| Deferred income | £97.3k | £114k | £145k | £159k |
| Cash from operations | £844k | £3.1m | £1.3m | £2.8m |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Feb 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Feb 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Feb 2025 | FullAccounts · bulk data Feb 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 11.9%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 28.4%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £229k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £27.2k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- 122.1%
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 38.5%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 1%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 16.9%
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- ▲16%
- Now £11.4m
- Cash at bank
- ▲27%
- Now £4m
- Headcount
- 0%
- Now 71
- Deferred income
- ▲10%
- Now £159k
- Fixed assets
- ▲28%
- Now £6.2m
Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 May 2025 (profit £1.9m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Feb 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 24 Oct 2026
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.