Losses have narrowed at major Fife shopfitting firm Havelock Europa after an upturn in work in the education and retail sectors.
The firm, which employs more than 600 staff from its Dalgety Bay base, saw group revenues climb by 20% to £92.5 million in the year to December 31 2012.
The significant increase in turnover helped the company reduce its overall pre-tax loss from £2.9m in 2011 to £500,000 last year.
Havelock also significantly managed to reduce its debt burden to £2.4m in the period, after completing the sale of its non-core Showcard Print and Clean Air businesses for a combined total of £13.4m.
The company’s interiors business, worth more than 90% in terms of group turnover, saw an upturn in work during the year on the back of a £20m framework agreement reached with Balfour Beatty Construction in autumn 2011.
The three-year partnership involves Havelock providing education equipment to a minimum of 30 new-build schools in southern England.
Chief executive Eric Prescott said it had been a busy period for the interiors business, and he expected workloads to increase further once a new laser-cutting machine purchased with support from Scottish Enterprise was installed at its metal shop in Kirkcaldy. The new unit will increase capacity at the facility by 50%.
The educational supplies division saw revenues grow by £1m to £8.8m.
Mr Prescott said the trading environment was likely to be difficult throughout this year, but steady progress was being made in the company’s recovery plan.
He also showed his confidence in the firm’s prospects by announcing the formation of the Havelock Academy, an apprenticeship scheme that will take on at least 12 young people this year in a mix of factory and office positions.
“The group expects market conditions to remain challenging in 2013,” Mr Prescott said. “However, the prospects for activity in the educational sector remain solid. We continue to pursue new business and we are currently providing products and services to a number of new customers.
“We are also re-addressing certain markets including student accommodation and healthcare, and have already secured our first projects in each of these areas.
“Overseas activity continues to grow and we are working towards achieving 10% of our revenue from this area in the medium-term. There remain opportunities for further cost saving and efficiency, although these will require the commitment of capital investment.
“The group’s aim is to make these investments, thereby enabling profitability to improve whilst still concentrating on markets where the group is competitive.”
Despite the improvements, chairman David McLellan confirmed there would be no dividend payout to shareholders this year.
However, he said that cash would be ploughed into the business in the months ahead.
“The board feels the financial position and outlook for the group are sufficiently stable that investment in the business can once again be considered.”
Shares closed up 1.37% at 18.5p on Thursday.