Cash at CTS Shopfitting fell to GBP 1.3m

CTS (Shopfitting) Limited, a UK shopfitting contractor, reported revenue of GBP 73.7m for FY2026, up 22.9% from GBP 60.0m. Operating profit rose to GBP 1.6m and net profit to GBP 1.2m, so the business stayed profitable while it grew. Cash moved the other way. It fell by GBP 988k to GBP 1.3m, from GBP 2.3m a year earlier. Operating cash flow was only GBP 102k, which is 8.6% of net profit. The profit was real on paper. Most of it did not arrive as money.

Growth in a contracting business usually costs cash first. Materials and subcontractors are paid before the customer pays, and profit is booked when the work is recognised. The accounts do not show which balance sheet line absorbed the difference. Equity rose to GBP 2.7m, and the equity ratio improved to 18.7% from 14.3%, so the balance sheet is not thinning. I would still watch the cash line, because a margin of 2.2% leaves little room if customers pay late. Profit is an opinion, cash is a fact.