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Knowles' figures 'disappointing'
17:01 27 Oct 2004
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Australian clients "spending more time swimming and sunbathing than
working on projects" dented James R Knowles' performance in the
year to 31 July.
The legal services and dispute resolution group suffered a dip in pre-tax profit to just £490,000, well down on the previous figure of £720,000.
Chairman Roger Knowles took the hit firmly on the chin. "It's a bit disappointing," he said. "We didn't do badly through the first three quarters, but then it all went pear-shaped.
"There were three areas that didn't perform. The Hong Kong market was hit.
"The US should be back on an even keel now that we've installed a new leader. And in Australia, they spend more time swimming and sunbathing. That's not our people I'm talking about - I'd fire them if they did. I mean the clients, the people working up the projects that take longer to bear fruit.
"Although we had a poor time, we think Australia is basically a good market for us," Knowles said.
Looking ahead, Knowles said: "The future is good. It's going well in the UK and has done for two or three years. It's just that we'd not sorted our overseas operations properly."
Turnover in the year was £31m (£33m). The cash collection policy has been reviewed as a result of gearing (the ratio of debts to assets) rising from 15% to 31% in just six months.
The deterioration was the result of some clients taking too long to pay. Knowles said: "We are therefore improving our billing so that payment is received at the end of the month, in place of the existing arrangement where payment is due to be made at the end of the month following the working month."
Perform 21, a partnering contract and toolkit that Knowles has developed for delivering partnering and best value for local government, has led to new business with several local authorities.
"It is our intention to focus on increasing business at the front end and throughout the construction process, while at the same time continuing to provide services relating to dispute resolution," Knowles said.
The legal services and dispute resolution group suffered a dip in pre-tax profit to just £490,000, well down on the previous figure of £720,000.
Chairman Roger Knowles took the hit firmly on the chin. "It's a bit disappointing," he said. "We didn't do badly through the first three quarters, but then it all went pear-shaped.
"There were three areas that didn't perform. The Hong Kong market was hit.
"The US should be back on an even keel now that we've installed a new leader. And in Australia, they spend more time swimming and sunbathing. That's not our people I'm talking about - I'd fire them if they did. I mean the clients, the people working up the projects that take longer to bear fruit.
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"Although we had a poor time, we think Australia is basically a good market for us," Knowles said.
Looking ahead, Knowles said: "The future is good. It's going well in the UK and has done for two or three years. It's just that we'd not sorted our overseas operations properly."
Turnover in the year was £31m (£33m). The cash collection policy has been reviewed as a result of gearing (the ratio of debts to assets) rising from 15% to 31% in just six months.
The deterioration was the result of some clients taking too long to pay. Knowles said: "We are therefore improving our billing so that payment is received at the end of the month, in place of the existing arrangement where payment is due to be made at the end of the month following the working month."
Perform 21, a partnering contract and toolkit that Knowles has developed for delivering partnering and best value for local government, has led to new business with several local authorities.
"It is our intention to focus on increasing business at the front end and throughout the construction process, while at the same time continuing to provide services relating to dispute resolution," Knowles said.
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