Jewellery manufacturer and distributor Abbeycrest has produced a polished set of figures for the year to February. Turnover fell slightly to £97m (£99.1m) but last year's pre-tax losses of £563,000 were transformed into £1.6m pre-tax profits. Newly appointed chief executive Phil Walker explained the company's priority was to get its balance sheet under control. Under a business review, Abbeycrest, whose major clients include Argos and Asda, transferred its 18 carat gemset manufacture to Leeds (which is also its warehouse and distribution site) from the Birmingham facility with the rest of the jewellery parts manufacture being transferred to its Lamphun factory in Thailand. Although Walker admits this is not without complications, the initial cost of £1.5m will produce annual savings of £1.5m per year. Stock levels have also been reduced by £4m to £27.5m. Abbeycrest's other operations, Abbeycrest (Thailand) and Essex International, have also moved production to the Lamphun site. As a result of the changes, gearing fell 15% to 73%, and should fall a further £2m during the current year. Walker asserts the priority this year is to refine and grow the commercial side of the business to attract more customers, particularly in the US, where a sales office has been set up in 16% shareholder (and Arsenal FC's leading shareholder) Danny Fiszman's Star Diamond Group's offices in New York. Speculative, but a potentially intriguing recovery play.