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Rok has said that its first-half profit will be affected by a backlog of work resulting from the adverse weather earlier in the year.
A management statement covering the first quarter said: “The severe weather conditions at the beginning of the year created industry-wide difficulties in accessing customer locations and our insurance repairs business was affected, with an adverse impact on first quarter revenues and profitability.
“Our expectation at the time was that these conditions would result in a backlog of work, so that the impact would largely be one of timing. This has so far been the case and the backlog is being progressively reduced. The recovery process is taking time and there will therefore be an impact on profits for the first half of the year.”
Rok also said it has reviewed performance in its Plumbing, Heating and Electrical business, which has been trading below expectations. The firm said: “We have decided to terminate a number of under-performing contracts and to restructure the business as a result. This issue has been dealt with swiftly and decisively so that it should not recur, although it will contribute to the reduction in profits for the first half of the year.”
The statement added: “As a result of these factors our full year profit will be more than usually dependent on the second half. As a result we anticipate that underlying profits for the current year will be at the lower end of market expectations.”
Rok said its other divisions continue to perform in line with expectations.
"We continue to be vigilant on costs and have put in place a number of actions to mitigate the impact of the lower first half performance,” the statement concluded.
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