Covid-19 blamed for drop in revenue and profit
Covid-19 is being blamed for a sharp drop in turnover and profit at Sheffield property developer and contractor Henry Boot.
Revenue has been slashed from 拢189m to 拢108.7m and profit has plummeted from 拢24.1m to 拢7.2m compared with the first six months of 2019, according to the company鈥檚 latest half year results released yesterday.
The interim results for the period ended 30 June 2020 said all operations had been impacted by covid-19.
Tim Roberts, Henry Boot chief executive, said: 鈥淭he first half of the year has proved to be very challenging for all of us, but with an agile recovery plan and a robust balance sheet Henry Boot remains in a strong position.鈥�
Productivity currently stand at almost 90% of planned activity levels that were in place before the virus struck, according to the report.
The company鈥檚 construction arm has been hit hard, making a loss of 拢947,000 in the first six months of this year - down from a profit of 拢4.5m for the first six months of 2019.
Chairman Jamie Boot said: 鈥淎lthough activity levels within our operations are increasing, we are not confident that levels will equal those seen pre-covid, for some time.
鈥淥n that basis we have made the difficult decision to undertake restructuring plans, which will result in redundancies in the construction division.鈥�
He said the company was anticipating a reduction in private sector opportunities later in the year.
Boot said: 鈥淭his may lead to a risk of tightening margins and we do not expect activity to achieve pre-pandemic levels in the short term.
鈥淭his, together with the need to ensure the business is fit for the future has resulted, unfortunately, in restructuring plans being implemented within the construction division.鈥�
The firm is the latest to announce redundancies, and joins the likes of Wates and Mace in shedding jobs due to the impact of covid-19.
Henry Boot has been approached for comment.
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