Guinness Peat Group says it's made moves to reduce costs and improve the profitability of its threadmaking business, which will soon come to represent the whole company.
Coats made a net profit of $US6.6 million for the six months to the end of June, compared with a loss of nearly $126 million for the same period last year.
Eliminating currency fluctuations across the regions it operates in, sales increased by 3.7%, driven by growth across both its industrial and craft divisions.
GPG chairman Rob Campbell said Coats operates in more than 70 countries and has about 20,000 employees, so it's not a quick ship to turn around.
He said the company has made efficiencies in the places where it produces product and developed a more sophisticated and clearly directed sales force in areas where it has good margins.
Mr Campbell said it's also significantly reducing overhead costs.
"Operating in a more customer directed way, previously Coats pretty much produced yarn and then looked for somewhere to sell it, now we're responding much more to what the market needs in producing that - it's really a reversal of the historic position of Coats."
Mr Campbell said GPG's only remaining investment outside of Coats is Tower, whose board is currently transitioning the business. Once this happens, GPG will make a decision on its Tower shareholding.
