Losses grow at Styles & Wood

Styles & Wood saw its first half losses grow to £2.0m before tax, compared to a £500,000 loss for the same period last year.

Revenue for the six months to 30 June 2013 was £40.4m, compared to £40.6m for the same period in 2012.

The banking sector now accounts for 50% of the firm’s business, up from 40% last year. However, project spending by clients “continues to be heavily skewed to the second half of the year with increasing visibility of allocation into the first quarter of 2014,” Styles & Wood said.

Revenue from the retail sector was down but this was offset by a fourfold increase from the commercial sector, where revenue reached £10.3m for the half-year after it was made a key strategic target for the business.

CEO Tony Lenehan said: "These results reflect a challenging period for Styles & Wood. The group has made significant investments as part of its diversification strategy to widen the service offering and enter into new sectors which has impacted on margins and profitability for the first half. However, a return on these investments is now being seen with ongoing improvement in our visibility of future revenue across a number of sectors. Consequently, the board anticipates an uplift in profitability in the second half of 2013."

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