Engineering and services group bounces back from pandemic
Ilkley-headquartered engineering and services business, NG Bailey, has reported a return to profitability.
For the year ended 25 February 2022 it reported EBITDA of £7m (2020/21: £3m) with an underlying operating profit of £0.8m (2020/21: £2.7m loss) and pre-tax profits of £3m (2020/21: £4.4m loss).
Annual turnover was in line with the previous year at £500m (£507m in 2020/21). The Group’s order book has also remained healthy and consistent at £1.2bn.
Chief executive, David Hurcomb, said: “NG Bailey has made a strong recovery following the pandemic, evidenced by our return to profitability.
“This demonstrates the strength of our diversified business plan which is increasingly important given the challenging economic environment driven by inflationary pressures and skilled labour shortages.
“With a high-quality order book, further opportunities for repeat income and the UK government committing to drive economic recovery through substantial investment in infrastructure and decarbonisation, we look forward with confidence to returning to pre-pandemic levels of trading in the medium-term.
“This is further backed by a growing pipeline of work in recession resilient markets.”
The Group says it Services division has recovered quickly following the pandemic with all its business streams; Facilities Services, IT Services and Freedom performing well during the financial year with increased turnover and profitability.
Collectively the underlying operating profit, excluding goodwill amortisation, was £7.1m for the Services division in 2021/22. Turnover for the division now accounts for almost half of the overall Group.
The expected longer recovery of the construction and engineering sectors, coupled with a small number of challenging contracts, resulted in the Engineering division posting an operating loss of £5.1m in 2021/22.
However, the division has embarked on a three-year business plan, which is designed to achieve a return to pre-pandemic levels of profitability based on a strong, visible pipeline of work.
Hurcomb added: “While the pandemic had a material effect on operations and there are some new market headwinds to navigate, the Group is on track with its plan.
“We have an excellent reputation, extensive operational skills, strong balance sheet and experienced management team.”
