Profits at James Fisher and Sons crashed in a “challenging” first half of the year due to Covid-19, with a lack of subsea and high voltage projects in renewables hitting income.
The company’s marine support division, which is active in offshore wind, booked underlying operating profit of £4.8m, down 28% year on year, on revenue of £121m, down 13%. James Fisher said turnover was hit by the lack of projects as many were “cancelled or deferred”.
“The Group responded quickly to the challenges within Marine Support and reduced headcount in the first half with an associated one-off charge of £1.5m which will lead to annualised savings in the future,” added a statement.
Overall, pre-tax profits for the group were £7.1m, down 59% on the first half of 2019, on revenue of £258m, down 10% year on year.
The company blamed Covid-19 headwinds and said the rest of the year will “remain challenging”.
Chief executive Eoghan O’Lionaird said: “The first half of 2020 was one of the most demanding periods the company has faced, and the commitment, support and engagement of our employees in stepping up to the challenges has been remarkable.
“The group responded swiftly to both the unprecedented headwinds presented by Covid-19 and the longer-term implications for energy demand by taking actions to reduce costs and protect the group’s liquidity.”
He added: “Whilst the second half is expected to remain challenging and the outlook for our end markets is uncertain, we expect trading to improve through the second half, assuming no material deterioration in the Covid-19 situation.