Home » Construction Management » Lorne Stewart battles to return to profit

Lorne Stewart battles to return to profit

The holding group for building services specialist Lorne Stewart and Rotary Building Services is still battling to stem losses.

Accounts for Saudi Arabian-owned LSRM Holdings last year reveal the Harrow-based group fell £3.7m into the red, coming on top of losses of  £2.2m in 2019 and £14.5m in 2018.

Revenue rose by 7% to £134m.

Over the year headcount was reduced by around 100 to 763 as the business was streamlined to meet Covid operational challenges. To support furloughed workers the group received £1.15m in Government support.

Among the key trading arms, the main M&E business Lorne Stewart improved on last year even in the face of Covid, recording a £350,000 loss on revenue up 12%  at £131m, compared to a £690,000 loss in 2019.

But the much smaller Rotary Building Services suffered a £2.3m loss on revenue slightly dipped at £9.5m.

Chief financial officer, Ramesh Krishnamurthy, said that despite the challenges and project delays cause by Covid, the business had improved cash generation, giving year-end net cash of nearly £14m up from £8m previously.

He added: “The board is reviewing the operational efficiencies to put the optimal structure in place to reduce costs.”