Civils contractor Alun Griffiths, which is consulting staff on a restructure of its business due to financial conditions, has reported its fifth consecutive pre-tax loss.
The firm’s annual report and financial statements for the year to 31 December 2023, published yesterday (11 March) on the Companies House website, show a pre-tax loss of £95m – worse than the previous year’s £20m loss.
Turnover shrank from £301m to £263m. In addition, in 2024 (after the period covered by the accounts) “management identified a number of loss-making contracts that became further loss-making due to conditions that arose after the reporting period”.
This has resulted in £57.8m of “additional onerous contract provisions” related to four contracts.
Alun Griffiths last reported a profit in 2018, when it was £328,000 in the black.
Its average annual headcount fell from 908 employees in 2022 to 779 the following year.
Alun Griffiths paid no dividends to shareholders in 2023. Cash at hand increased from £1.8m to £8.3m and the firm held no bank loans or overdrafts.
But it said its headline financial performance had been impacted by “significant losses” on certain large fixed-price contracts entered into before the economic disruption arising from the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
These contracts had also been hit by weather delays, programme changes and supply chain cost escalation, which had had a significant impact on their practical execution.
Practical completion of the contracts would be achieved during 2024 and early 2025, it said.
Elsewhere, the firm said it had a broad portfolio of work across the local authority, utilities and public infrastructure sectors which were currently exhibiting more stable financial performance.
But “significant trading challenges” over the last few years had forced it to carry out a review to assess the difficulties facing the business, including market conditions, financial performance, and reductions in project funding.
Last week, Construction News reported that the firm had failed to file its accounts for the 2023 calendar year on time and was consulting with staff on potential changes emerging from a strategic review.
“The review identified an urgent requirement to restructure and resize our business in line with our current contracted workbook and this was announced to employees on 13 February 2025,” it said.
“An estimate of the scale and financial impact of the restructure cannot currently be made as this will be ultimately determined through a consultation process with employees which will extend into April 2025.”
Alun Griffiths was ranked 61st in the CN100 2024 index of top UK contractors.
Formed in 1980 as Speckpound Ltd, it was acquired by Tarmac for £35.6m in 2018.
It is currently lead contractor on a £590m dualling scheme on the A465, part of the broader Heads of the Valleys road upgrade programme for the devolved Welsh government.
Other active projects include a joint venture with Farrans to deliver a new £60m transport hub at Bristol Airport.
However, Griffiths was replaced by Galliford Try on a £89.2m job on the Banwell Bypass in Somerset last March after walking away from the deal for an undisclosed reason.
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Kerry Lorimer