How much does Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) make?

Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) reported revenue of £4m and a loss of £76.5k in the year to 31 Dec 2024, according to its accounts filed at Companies House.

How many employees does Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) have?

Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) reported an average of 28 employees in the year to 31 Dec 2024.

Is Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) profitable?

No — Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) reported a loss of £76.5k in the year to 31 Dec 2024.

Company No. 02012484 · Incorporated 21 Apr 1986

Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The)

Registered name: ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH DISPENSING OPTICIANS(THE)

Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The) made £4m revenue and a £76.5k loss in the year to 31 Dec 2024.

Association of British Dispensing Opticians(The)’s revenue grew 20% to £4m in the year to 31 Dec 2024, with a loss of £76.5k and 28 employees. The company is classified under “technical and vocational secondary education” and is based in Canterbury; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.

Full P&L filedSection P · EducationSIC 85320Technical and vocational secondary education SIC 94120Activities of professional membership organizations

Status: Active
Location: Canterbury, South East
Age: 40 yrs · since 1986
Type: PRI/LTD BY GUAR/NSC (Private, limited by guarantee, no share capital)

Non-profit. It is limited by guarantee (typically an association, club or management company), so it isn't run for profit. It is excluded from our opportunity lists.

Latest accounts · year to 31 Dec 2024

Key figures

IndependentDoing more with less

Revenue

£4m

Growth ▲20.3%

Profit

−£76.5k

Growth —

Profit margin

−1.9%

Gross 68.6%

Employees

Change ▼3.5%

Profit / employee

−£2.7k

Revenue/employee £141k

Profitable streak

0yrs

Consecutive profitable years in our data

Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.

3 filed years

Financial history

Multi-year financials, oldest to newest
Year to	31 Dec 2022	31 Dec 2023	31 Dec 2024
Disclosure	Full P&L	Full P&L	Full P&L
Profit & loss
Revenue (turnover)	£3.4m	£3.3m	£4m
Cost of sales	£1.1m	£1.2m	£1.2m
Gross profit	£2.3m	£2.1m	£2.7m
Operating profit	−£353k	−£609k	−£69.4k
Profit before tax	−£368k	−£613k	−£75.9k
Profit after tax	−£368k	−£614k	−£76.5k
Profit (best available)	−£368k	−£614k	−£76.5k
Employees (average)	30	29	28
Ratios
Profit margin	−10.9%	−18.6%	−1.9%
Gross margin	66.8%	63.8%	68.6%
Revenue per employee	£113k	£114k	£141k
Profit per employee	−£12.3k	−£21.2k	−£2.7k
Growth (year on year)
Revenue growth	—	▼2.6%	▲20.3%
Headcount growth	—	▼3.3%	▼3.5%
Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue
Cash at bank	£383k	£179k	£453k
Net assets	£1.5m	£889k	£812k
Fixed assets	£1.1m	£983k	£934k
Current assets	£1.1m	£952k	£931k
Debtors	£336k	£295k	£294k
Deferred income	—	£705k	£577k
Source	FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2024	FullAccounts · bulk data Sep 2025

Derived from the latest filing

How the business works

Profit margin: −1.9%; Profit ÷ revenue.
Gross margin: 68.6%; Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
Revenue per employee: £141k; Revenue ÷ average employees.
Profit per employee: −£2.7k; Profit ÷ average employees.
Cash conversion: —; Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
Fixed assets ÷ revenue: 23.6%; Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
Deferred income ÷ revenue: 14.6%; Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
Debtors ÷ revenue: 7.4%; Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.

Indirect — not revenue

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: ▼9%; Now £812k
Cash at bank: ▲153%; Now £453k
Headcount: ▼3%; Now 28
Deferred income: ▼18%; Now £577k
Fixed assets: ▼5%; Now £934k

Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.

Corporate ownership

Group structure

Subsidiaries (3)

Abdo International LimitedFigures not disclosed
Abdo Publications LimitedFigures not disclosed
Abdo Research FundFigures not disclosed

From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).

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Sources

Companies House profile Filing history & original accounts

Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 31 Dec 2024 (profit −£76.5k), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Sep 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.

Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.