9th Jun 2016 10:10
LONDON (Alliance News) - Security and defence services provider Westminster Group PLC Thursday reported a narrowed pretax loss for 2015, as it took steps to mitigate the challenges of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, delays to the launch of its ferry operations, and the drop in the oil price.
The company reported a pretax loss of GBP2.0 million, narrowed from a pretax loss of GBP2.4 million the year before, as a slight dip in revenue to GBP3.4 million from GBP3.5 million was offset by lower administrative costs.
Westminster Group reduced its total operating and administrative costs by 17% as it cut headcount in its expatriate staff in West Africa, as well as staff in its Banbury HQ in the UK. It said it has made further cost reductions since the year end.
The company said it had experienced two "challenging and difficult years", as the Ebola crisis in West Africa led to a fall in passenger numbers. Compounding this, the company's flagship ferry vessel, the Sierra Queen, was damaged shortly after arriving in Sierra Leone.
This resulted in extended delays to the commencement of the company's 21 year ferry project signed in November 2014. Westminster employed a local marine contractor to undertake repairs of the ferry, and despite a successful launch in June 2015, the company subsequently found the vessel was not fully operational.
The ferry could not be fixed where it was, and as such Westminster had to ship it back to the UK for repair, meaning that repair work which "should have taken a few weeks, turned into several months of delays".
Westminster Group said it had seen an "encouraging start" to 2016, with the Ebola crisis coming to an end, and ongoing recovery in its revenues and increasing interest in its long term airport security operations.
In the first four months of 2016 revenue has improved in its airport security operation by over 85% as traffic has returned, which has helped result in a "very significant" improvement in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation compared to the same period in 2015.
"Following two years of dealing with and overcoming a range of challenging issues, I believe we are now emerging leaner, stronger, and as a result of the strategic review we are undertaking, better structured to ensure maximum shareholder benefit is achieved from the numerous large scale, long term and high margin Managed Services opportunities we are developing," said Chief Executive Peter Fowler in a statement.
Shares in Westminster Group were down 2.5% at 12.55 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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