Jittery clients send revenue and profit falling at steelwork contractor Billington

Steelwork contractor Billington said that jittery clients putting the brakes on jobs meant profit and revenue headed into reverse last year.

The firm closed its steel plant at Bristol at a cost of £2.8m and merged two others in South Yorkshire with the firm saying that the number of staff at the year-end had fallen to 449. At the end of 2024, staff numbers were 520 meaning numbers fell 14% during 2025.

Billington added that over 90% of the staff it had to make redundant had found jobs elsewhere.

But the firm said it expected staff numbers to rise throughout 2026 as “night shifts continue to expand at the group’s Barnsley facilities”.

Billington said revenue fell 15% to £96m last year while pre-tax profit fell from £10.8m to just £1.3m.

It said “pricing pressure combined with client led contract slippage was experienced during the year in many parts of the group”.

But the firm said it expected this year to be better and added: “Whilst macroeconomic visibility remains limited, we entered 2026 with increased confidence and expect an improved financial performance in 2026.”

Its year-end cash balance was £20.5m, down from £21.7m.

The firm also took a swipe at the practice of retentions which the government has recently pledged to get rid of.

In a note underlining the expected pitfalls in getting rid of retentions, Billington said: “Main contractor clients continue to insist upon the holding of cash retentions rather than the taking of an appropriate retention bond in order to maintain and preserve their cash resources. The company continues to work with the wider construction industry to remove this practice.”