M&E contractor turns in profit after covid wrecked previous year鈥檚 numbers
M&E contractor NG Bailey returned to the black last year after the pandemic sent it nosediving to a 拢4m loss in 2021.
The impact of covid-19 that year saw it shell out more than 拢12m on redundancies and topping up the salaries of furloughed staff to send the firm to a 拢4.4m pre-tax loss in the 12 months to 26 February 2021.
But the firm鈥檚 latest report and accounts show that it recovered to post a 拢3m pre-tax profit in the year to 25 February 2022 鈥� although still some way short of the 拢20.5m profit it posted for 2019/20.
Turnover was flat at 拢500m, slightly down from last year鈥檚 拢507m, and 13% down on the 拢573m it posted in the year before the pandemic struck.
Income from its biggest division, engineering, slipped 9% to 拢267m but workloads at its services business, which includes facilities services and IT, recovered 9% to 拢232m.
It said the engineering business posted an operating loss of 拢5.1m which it blamed on the lag in construction鈥檚 recovery and a 鈥渟mall number of challenging contracts鈥�. It added that this has led the firm to 鈥渆mbark on a three-year business plan that will see a return to pre-pandemic levels of profitability鈥�.
Bailey鈥檚 order book was flat at 拢1.2bn but net assets, which include 拢79m of cash and investments, edged up to 拢147m from 拢142m.
The firm, which saw overall staff numbers drop 4% to 3,062 for the year, added that it had taken on 100 apprentices during the period as part of a target to recruit the highest number of apprentices for 15 years.
The firm added that it spent 拢700,000 on furloughed staff but 拢500,000 of this was offset by income from the government鈥檚 Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
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