Billington’s results meet expectations

The Barnsley-based company’s loss before tax for the year, excluding redundancy costs, improved by £1.6m to £100,000 on revenue of £38.2m, compared with a loss of £1.7m on revenue of £53.9m in the previous year.

In a statement, the company said: “The reduction in revenue was primarily due to the decision to revert to a single shift working pattern in our core structural steel business, which was taken in order to adjust production levels to market demand.”

Steve Fareham, the chief executive, said: “Market conditions within the structural steel industry remained highly challenging in 2012. Billington responded accordingly, taking action to ensure that our operations accurately matched market demand.

“The strategic review which was concluded in 2012 resulted in a decision to revert to a single shift working pattern that helped to deliver annualised cost savings of £3m. This decision, along with other operational efficiency improvements and being selective about work undertaken, enhanced margins and helped deliver an improved performance for the group.

“There was a growing sense of order and stability in structural steel markets towards the end of 2012, helped by further small reductions in capacity as smaller players consolidated or failed. Although we expect conditions to remain challenging throughout 2013, we do foresee marginal improvement. Having invested accordingly to take advantage of opportunities in non-traditional, growth sectors, and with our financial strength intact, we look to the future with cautious optimism.”