Laing O’Rourke cuts staff and returns to profitability
Accounts just filed with the Companies Office by Laing O’Rourke Ireland Ltd show that the company recorded a pre-tax profit of €1.2 million in the 12 months to the end of March 31 last year after recording a pre-tax loss of €1m in fiscal 2010.
The return to profit occurred after revenues decreased by 36% from €25.1m to €16.1m.
The drop in revenues underlines the continuing downsizing of the business — in 2009 the company recorded revenues of €103.6m and employed 590 people.
Last year, employee numbers declined further going down from 282 to 143, a drop of 139.
The firm had administrative staff of 44 and 99 site staff at the end of last March.
According to the directors, they “are satisfied with the financial result for the year and expect the business to continue to trade profitably”.
The decrease in numbers employed resulted in employment costs decreasing from €18.7m to €10.5m.
The profit secured last year reduced the company’s accumulated losses to €5.3m.
The firm had shareholders’ deficit of the same amount.
The company’s cost of sales last year totalled €14.1m compared with €25.3m in fiscal 2010.
The firm wrote off €753,000 in investments in fiscal 2010, but recorded no write-offs under that heading in 2011.
No dividend was paid last year.
Established by Irishmen Ray O’Rourke and his brother, Des, three decades ago, the group has operations in Europe, the Middle East, south Asia and Australasia.
Laing O’Rourke is the biggest privately-owned construction company in Britain, with projects including the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Park and Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
Some of the group’s other projects include a 800km north-south railway in Saudi Arabia and Europe’s largest pre-assembly manufacturing facility.
The group recorded revenues of £4 billion in managed revenues 2011 and recorded post-tax profits of £21.4m.
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