Firms in BEAR contract will not be able to recoup losses
10:30 28 Apr 2004
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Babtie, Ennstone and Ringway will not make back all their losses on their BEAR jv by the time the Scottish trunk road contracts expire in 2006.
Ringway managing director David Lee revealed that the group, which has a 37.5% share in BEAR, ran up a loss of more than £1m in 2003. The BEAR jv made a loss of £4.7m in 2002. This was halved last year to £2.6m. However, a trading profit is not expected until 2005, with another loss expected this year.
Lee said he does not expect to make back all the losses by the end of the contract.
Lee will take over from Ennstone chief executive Vaughan McLeod as BEAR's chairman. He said: "We have learnt a lot from this contract and we have forged better relationships with the Scottish Executive. The systems and processes are now working well on the ground."
He added that the jv might be able to pull back the losses by being granted the one- or two-year extensions on the original contract.
- Ringway's turnover was up 14% to £306m last year compared to £269m in 2002, with pre-tax profit increasing 31% from £7.6m to £10.1m. Margins have increased to 3.3% from 2.8%. The order book stands at £510m.