Partner Article

Metnor rebuilds after difficult year

CONSTRUCTION group Metnor has plunged into the red and warned that a sustained recovery in the year ahead is unlikely unless banks return to ‘normal’ corporate lending levels.

The Killingworth firm saw its annual revenue drop from £76m in 2008 to £38.4m in the year ending 31 December 2009, although it is already on the road to recovery with signs of an upturn in business in early 2010.

The property and building business made a pre-tax loss of £790,000 in the period, compared to a £2.1m profit the previous year.

A company statement said the group was expecting to see some signs of recovery during 2010, although it remains cautious amid ongoing difficult conditions.

The firm said: “The outlook for the next twelve months and beyond remains uncertain but there are signs that the markets in which we operate are beginning to improve.

“The steps we have taken in 2009 to adapt the business, manage our cash position and implement cost control measures means that we are in a far stronger position than we were 12 months ago and this gives us confidence that we are well positioned to outperform in the medium term.”

“We expect our performance in 2010 to show signs of recovery but the key to sustained recovery in the markets in which we operate will be the banking sector reverting to some kind of normality in terms of providing debt finance for capital projects.”

In March last year Metnor quit AIM after a decade, claiming it had been “seriously undervalued” and criticising the City for “perpetual short-termism”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .