Severfield reported an 18% fall in revenue to £206m as demand in the commercial, industrial, and data-centre sectors remained subdued and margins continued to face pressure.
Underlying pre-tax profit dropped sharply from £16m a year earlier to just £0.6m, with factory overheads significantly under-recovered.
Despite the tough trading period, the firm managed to halve net debt since the year-end to £21.7m, helped by £20m in insurance proceeds related to the highways and HS2 bridge welding issues disclosed last year.
To preserve cash ahead of a further £10m in bridge-remediation costs due in the second half, management has suspended the interim dividend.
The contractor has also set aside an additional £3.3m for other bridge-related costs, covering third-party consequential expenses and claims received since the full-year results in July.
New chief executive Paul McNerney confirmed he has launched a comprehensive review of the group’s operating model ahead of resetting the business strategy for 2026.
He said: “My priority is to redefine our strategy, strengthen manufacturing and delivery performance, boost efficiency, and ensure an unwavering focus on engineering excellence for our clients.”
The UK and Europe order book remained stable at £429m, with £324m scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months.
McNerney added that tendering activity is beginning to improve, with opportunities in battery manufacturing, data centres, and green-energy infrastructure providing medium-term momentum.
India continues to outperform, with joint venture JSSL achieving a strong recovery and securing a record £286m order book driven by rising steel demand and expansion of its Gujarat plant.
The group said that full-year expectations remain unchanged, supported by secured second-half workloads and improving tender volumes across core markets.
English 