NG Bailey has bounced back into the black, delivering a pre-tax profit of £19.9m for the year to 26 February 2010.
The UK’s largest privately-owned building services provider made a £10.8m pre-tax loss in the previous year.
The firm experienced a 23% fall in turnover to £462m (2009 figure: £600m), and cut its workforce during the year by 7%.
In June, NG Bailey announced the appointment of David Hurcomb as its new CEO, who will take up his post in September.
Chairman Nimble Thompson said: “Although the results are extremely pleasing, this level of profit is unlikely to be repeated in the near future and indeed we approach the market with caution, as the recession continues to bite.
"There are two very clear-cut reasons to explain the profit figure. Firstly, some of our most successful longer-term projects came to a financial close, resulting in us being able to take profit on these in accordance with our recognised accounting policies. Secondly, we saw a welcome revaluation in our investment portfolio, which returned to a £6.7m profit compared to a £6.7m loss the previous year – a swing we weren’t expecting quite so soon.
"Despite such rewarding results, which reflect the Group’s earlier efforts, we have not been immune from the downturn, which is evident from the 23% fall in sales. We expect that our sales volume will remain at a similar level for at least the next couple of years and for that reason we have unfortunately had to take the necessary steps to reduce our workforce by 7%.
Looking ahead, Thompson added: "The board has set aside substantial investment for the 2010/11 year which will help us improve our market penetration, capitalise on our technical expertise and target new and emerging sectors.
"At the same time, we will maintain the organic development of our core businesses that have been the cornerstone of our long-term success."
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