Severfield Plc. (SFR.L), a British construction company, on Tuesday reported a pre-tax loss for the first half, reflecting higher non-underlying items. However, the firm registered an increase in revenue, helped by an increase in revenue from Core Construction Operations segment.
In addition, for the full year, the company now expects underlying profit below its previous projection.
For the six-month period to September 28, the company posted a pre-tax loss of 5.766 million pounds, compared with a profit of 11.016 million pounds, registered for the same period last year.
Underlying pre-tax earnings were at 16.088 million pounds, higher than 14.158 million pounds in 2023.
Non-underlying items, before tax, widened to negative 21.854 million pounds from last year's negative 3.142 million pounds.
Net loss stood at 4.252 million pounds or 1.37 pence per share as against last year's profit of 8.358 million pounds or 2.63 pence per share.
Underlying profit was at 12.160 million pounds or 3.92 pence per share, higher than 10.787 million pounds or 3.40 pence per share a year ago.
Operating loss stood at 4.216 million pounds as against last year's operating profit of 12.713 million pounds.
Revenue was 252.253 million pounds, up from 215.256 million pounds a year ago. This reflects an increase in revenue from Core Construction Operations, mainly representing a rise in production activity in the period.
Revenue from Core Construction Operations segment improved to 247.2 million pounds from last year's 208 million pounds.
The company will pay an interim dividend of 1.4 pence per share on February 7, to shareholders on the register as of January 10, 2025.
Looking ahead, Severfield, said: "In the UK and Europe, the market backdrop is currently challenging. The previously anticipated recovery in some sectors has been slower than expected and tighter prices are continuing to impact our profitability in the short-term. In addition, some large project opportunities for FY25 and FY26 have been either delayed or cancelled. As such, the Group now expects underlying profits for the full year to be below our previous expectations."
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