‘Uncertain times’ hit concrete frame specialist’s bottom line

Getjar has seen its turnover almost halve over the past year, its latest accounts show.

The concrete-frame specialist posted a 42 per cent drop in turnover from £124m to £71.6m over the past year.

Its latest accounts, for the year ending 31 August 2024, show its pre-tax profit dropped 12.3 per cent over the year from £2m to £1.7m.

This was the fourth consecutive annual fall since the firm posted a profit of £4.8m in its 2020 financial year.

Hertfordshire-based Getjar, which is a subsidiary of construction group Masterson, said it had been impacted by “uncertain times”.

In the accounts, director Michael Masterson said: “We live in uncertain times where profit margins remain challenging. There is also reduced demand in our sector and despite that we see continuing price increases in materials, labour, plant and support costs.”

However, he said the firm had increased its order book. “Our current contracts are progressing satisfactorily and our financials remain strong,” he said.

“Our order book has increased and we have an encouraging tender pipeline and we project continuing profits.”

Getjar, which was a  Construction News top 10 concrete specialist last year, increased its dividend payout by 39 per cent over the period from £1.8m to £2.5m.

However, the accounts added that “the directors do not recommend payment of a final dividend”.

The firm had no external loan debts or overdrafts.

Getjar’s accounts showed that the firm reduced its monthly average headcount from 87 to 70 employees, which led to a significant cut in its wage bill from £5.8m to £4.1m.

Its cash at bank and in hand increased from £9.1m to £12.6m.

“The company has considerable financial resources without the need to resort to bank or any other form of borrowing and it has a substantial order book for the 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements,” the accounts said.

“As a consequence, the directors believe that the company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully and will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.”