Problem jobs drag Sisk to £18m loss

Contractor John Sisk and Son has posted an £18m pre-tax loss after a number of problem jobs in the south.

In its financial results for the 2015 calendar year, the firm said it was impacted by poor performance on a number of contracts in its UK south division, which it blamed on an “extremely challenging construction market”.

The contractor said “record levels” of supply chain inflation had directly impacted margins on its construction programmes, and said the costs couldn’t typically be passed onto clients due to fixed price contracts.

But Sisk said it had taken steps to restructure the division and said it expects the business to return to profitability in the coming year.

The contractor announced in March this year it was planning to make 30 redundancies in its London and south regional operations.  

Despite the pre-tax loss, turnover at the firm was up 22% to £419m, up from £344m the previous year.

But due to the losses in the south, Sisk’s cash reserves fell from £33m in 2014 to £18m last year.

During the year it also settled a dispute with luxury hotel chain Shangri-La over delays to the fit-out of its hotel in the Shard skyscraper in London (pictured).