Billington warns of slow recovery

In the six months ended June 30, the company’s revenue was £22.8m, an increase on the £21.3m recorded in the same period the year before.

The company posted a loss before tax from continuing operations of £600,000, compared with a profit of £1.1m the year before.

Billington, which is one of the UK’s biggest structural steel and construction safety firms, recently formed a joint venture with Bourne Steel, which enables the group to bid for bigger projects.

Steve Fareham, chief executive of Billington Holdings, said: “Throughout the first six months of 2011 the markets have remained challenging, but I am happy to say that we have managed to grow revenues, albeit at tight margins. We have made a number of decisions, which we believe will position us well for the long term growth of the business, including the formation of BS2 and the acquisition of Peter Marshall Steel Stairs Limited.

“The formation of BS2 was well received by the industry and will enable us to bid for bigger projects, whilst the acquisition of Peter Marshall was timely and complemented our own business.

“We are under no illusions, even though we expect margin pressures to ease in 2012; we realise that the construction market recovery will be a slow one. We remain cautious going forward, whilst positioning ourselves for growth.

“We have a strong balance sheet, the industry knowledge and relationships, to provide us with a degree of confidence in the current market conditions and look to 2012 with cautious optimism.”