精东影视

Steelwork contractor Severfield has begun a restructuring at the business which will see dozens of jobs go.

In a trading update this morning, the struggling firm, which has already warned that profits this year and next will be down, said it had completed a headcount review which will see around 6% of roles cut or not filled.

According to its last annual report, the firm employed 1,918 people meaning a 6% cut would result in the loss of around 115 jobs.

In the update, the firm said the falls would be achieved 鈥渢hrough a combination of redundancies and the non-recruitment of approved vacancies鈥�.

It added: 鈥淚n addition, there is an even stronger than normal focus on cash generation and conservation. This includes careful working capital management, the acceleration of certain tax refunds from HMRC, a reduction in planned capital expenditure, taking into account the significant investment in the asset base over recent years, and other ongoing cost reduction actions.鈥�

The firm said it still expected this year鈥檚 underlying profit to be between 拢18m and 拢20m when it publishes its results for the year to 29 March. Last year the figure was 拢36.5m.

Severfield gave no update on its search for a replacement for outgoing chief executive Alan Dunsmore who is due to leave at the end of June after 15 years at the business.

But it said it had racked up an 拢18m bill for testing and remediation work on a series of bridges, including several HS2 structures, that it has been forced to go back and look at again because of problems with the welding.

It added: 鈥淭he remaining cash costs are expected to be incurred in FY26 and FY27. Discussions with the group鈥檚 professional indemnity insurers have made good progress and they have now confirmed coverage.鈥�

It said its order book remained 鈥渟olid鈥� and stood at 拢440m at 1 April, up from 拢403 on 1 February, with 拢327m of that figure due to be delivered in the next year.

But it warned: 鈥淲hilst we continue to see a good pipeline of project opportunities, the market backdrop in the UK and Europe remains challenging, with pricing remaining at tighter levels for longer than expected in a competitive market and some projects not being awarded or progressing within normal timescales.鈥�

Severfeld said it had still not settled on a date for when it will publish its numbers although it tends to make its annual results announcement in June.