Sisk pre-tax profits fall as slowdown hits

In a further sign of economic slowdown, profits at one of the State's largest building firms, John Sisk & Son, have fallen, with turnover from its Irish operations also down.

Accounts for John Sisk & Son Holdings reveal that pre-tax profits for 2002 fell to €32.2 million from €32.6 million the previous year, after several years of growth, although there was a small rise in after-tax profits.

The company claims to be the country's largest general contracting firm. It manages projects in the Republic and Britain and has a rapidly expanding business in Africa.

While company turnover rose to €743 million from €711 million, the Irish operation turned in the flattest performance of its three divisions.

Turnover for Ireland slipped from €520 million to €514 million. However, turnover in Britain rose by €33 million to €216 million. Sisk's operations in the rest of the world produced almost €13 million in turnover, up from €8 million the year before. Sisk does not disclose the profits of each international division.

The numbers employed in Ireland by Sisk also fell last year, from 1,301 to 1,186. However, overall staff numbers at the firm rose to 3,410 from 2,447 in the previous year. An increased staff cost of €82 million was one of the major constraints on profitability in 2002, with wages and salaries rising by almost €7 million.

The accounts also reveal that the company had a net pension liability of €21.6 million in relation to accounting rule FRS 17. This was up from € 8.8 million the year before.

The company's auditor states that "the funding position of the pension schemes has deteriorated" as of December 2002. The auditor says fresh actuarial valuations are being undertaken. "Upon completion of these reports, the board of directors will decide on how the schemes will be funded to comply with pensions legislation."

Emoluments among the directors were also down for the year from €2.6 million to €1.3 million. According to the accounts, the company had five directors in 2002: chairman Mr George Sisk, managing director Mr Bernard J O'Connell, Mr Conor Dunne, Mr Frank O'Flynn and Mr Philip Sykes.

The ultimate parent company of Sisk is a firm called Sicon Ltd. According to the accounts as of December 31st, 2002, Mr Sisk, "together with his wife and family trust, own one-third of the ordinary and preference shares issued in the ultimate holding company".

This company's last reported accounts were for the year to December 2001 and they showed after-tax profits rising by 9 per cent. However the accounts noted the fall in construction volumes in Ireland.

Founded in 1859, the company is one of Ireland's oldest building firms. It draws a lot of its revenue from commercial developments and its clients include Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola.