John Sisk & Son trebles profits in UK despite Covid challenges

The UK arm of Irish family-owned construction company John Sisk & Son almost trebled its profits last year despite lower turnover and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, its latest set of accounts show.

The group, which has been in business for more than 160 years, operates across key sectors with offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford and Portlaoise. The British business has offices in St Albans, Birmingham, Warrington and Bristol.

Its accounts for 2021 show it recorded an overall profit of £8.4 million (€9.4 million) up from £2.8 million the previous year

Turnover for the year was £383 million, which was down 1.9 per cent. No dividend was recommended or paid out.

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Having successfully completed a number of major projects, the company said, it had a strong pipeline of new projects for 2022 and 2023 with both new and existing clients.

“The results for the year reflect robust underlying activity levels in the various sectors of the construction industry in the UK in which the company operates,” the group said.

“During the course of the year the business experienced growth in its various operating divisions despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Sisk said it is continuing to monitor and assess the potential business impact of the war in Ukraine, but pointed out it does not operate in Russia or Ukraine nor does it have clients that are currently subject to economic sanctions.

“The company continues to monitor the impact of sanctions on the financial and credit market, mindful of potential impacts on the availability of liquidity in the construction sector,” it said.

“The company also routinely monitors and adjusts its supply chain to deal with events as they arise with the view to being able to source alternative materials in the event that materials were coming from either Russia, Ukraine, or other countries impacted by sourcing or supply chain issues.

“Price inflation, particularly with regard to energy costs, remain a risk to the business given the impact on the cost base of construction projects.

“Through negotiation with existing clients on active projects and appropriate considerations being made at the tendering stage with potential new work, the directors are satisfied that risks are and can be managed and mitigated.”

The average number of employees during the year was 622, which was down from 594. The group spent £46.4 million on staff, which was up from £44.5 million.

Sisk has a number of key projects throughout Europe for major pharmaceutical, retail and technology clients. Current locations for Sisk projects include the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.