Jarvis chairman Steven Norris claims company has turned corner as core businesses report £16m operating profit
Support services group Jarvis has posted a pre-tax loss of £56.6m, but chairman Steven Norris argued that the company had finally turned the corner after years of difficulties.
Indeed, the results to 31 March were better than the previous 12 months, when Jarvis announced a pre-tax loss of £391m. This year’s loss was put down to a debt-for equity exchange last year, which cost the business £61.9m in financial adjustments. The debt-for-equity exchange effectively gave debtors such as banks a major share of the business without having to pay off the spiralling amounts Jarvis owed them.
The company has slimmed down its business, and now focuses mainly on rail work having left the PFI arena, in which it has mounted many of its previous losses. As a result, turnover fell from £509.7m to £401.2m. The company’s core businesses actually reported an operating profit of £16.2m.
Norris said: “There is still a great deal to do, but I am confident that we now have a strong business with which to go forward and the right team in place to complete the recovery.”
