Steelwork contractor sees income and profit slip

Billington saw both turnover and profit fall last year with the firm blaming the drops on 2024’s tougher trading conditions than the previous 12 months.

The listed steelwork contractor said income last year was down 15% to £113m with pre-tax profit slipping 19% to £11m from the record high in 2023.

The firm said the falls were “reflective of the exceptional year in 2023 and tougher 2024 trading conditions”, adding: “The 2024 performance was significantly ahead of that achieved by the Group in any year other than 2023 and we continued to enjoy the benefit of improved manufacturing efficiencies and the successful delivery of high-quality contracts.”

Chief executive Mark Smith said the firm was expecting a recovery in performance by the end of the year “although the timing and nature of any upturn in economic confidence is uncertain”.

He added: “The overall reduction in industry demand is leading to pricing pressure, particularly as competitors look to secure work to contribute to fixed overhead recovery, and the precise timing of certain projects remains uncertain.”

Billington said it had mitigated the impact of ISG’s collapse last September thanks to its credit insurance paying out. “The financial impact on Billington has been materially restricted to the excess on the group’s credit insurance policy.”

And it said the possible closure of British Steel’s plant at Scunthorpe was not expected to have any impact “in the ability of British Steel to service the UK constructional sections and rail markets, utilising imported steel billet”.

Over the weekend, Parliament was recalled to pass measures allowing the UK government powers to effectively direct operations at the plant.

The site is still owned by Jingye, a Chinese company but blast furnaces at the site are at risk of being turned off if raw materials to fuel them are not delivered in time.

The UK government argues keeping the site operating is crucial both for national and economic security.