Amco Corporation unveils 50% drop in interim profit to £2.3m

Amco Corporation has unveiled an interim pre-tax profit of £2.3m on turnover of £56m.

The latest financial results cover the six months to 30 June. In the comparable period last year, turnover of £53m generated a pre-tax profit of £4.7m.

Amco has four business streams: structural steel, property, specialist engineering (construction) and manufacturing.

It was the structural steel division that carried the flag for Amco, with turnover of £26m generating an operating profit of £2.4m.

Chairman Peter Hems said: “Structural steel’s profits were in line with expectations and after a slow start in the early part of the year, prospects for the full year look positive.”

Property development activities just about broke even whereas they contributed a £2.0m operating profit in the same period last year. Hems said: “Profitability of this part of the business is dependent on the timing of the completion and sale of development projects.”

Property will be back to satisfactory profits within the next 12 months, he added.

Amco’s specialist engineering division turned in an operating profit of £640,000 on turnover of £34m, which Hems said was an improvement on the previous figure of £320,000.

The division has been reorganised. The nature of the work is that overhead costs are proportionately high, said Hems. Low margins are likely to continue through the second half of the year.