In the year to January 2012 group profit was £4.56 million on turnover was £41.08 million.

In the year ended 30 June 1992, the group pre-tax profit would have been £120,000 higher (1991 - £1.23m higher) under the old basis.

The company accounts for around two-thirds of group profits.

The holding company structure allowed group profits to be retained and used as working capital.

The retained group profit for that period was £11.3 million.

But the parent company, which had said it could beat last year's $5.6 billion group profit, now only expects to match it.

Johnson Matthey's pharmaceutical business has seen continued growth and has made a strong contribution to group profits during the year.

The latter group profits from the gained manoeuvrability that is needed when living in coral reefs for example.

Otherwise a separate calculation of worldwide group profits would be required under each jurisdiction's tax accounting rules.

By the end of the 1980s, private housebuilding was contributing the major part of group profits.