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James Fisher & Sons PLC on Tuesday reported it turned to an annual loss, as costs outpaced revenue growth, but remained optimistic for the future. The Barrow In Furness, Cumbria-based marine services company said it swung to a pretax loss of £39.9 million in 2023 from a profit of £14.5 million in 2022. Revenue edged up 3.8% to £496.2 million from £478.1 million. Cost of sales increased 2.7% to £360.3 million from £350.9 million, while administrative costs grew by 12% to £109.6 million from £97.5 million. More notably, impairment charges ballooned to £28.4 million from £4.9 million. James Fisher reported refinancing costs of £12.2 million for 2023, compared to none in 2022, while finance expenses increased to £24.5 million from £10.9 million. James Fisher said it ‘made good progress on our 2023 priorities which focus on improving safety, project management, employee engagement and financial performance.’ Chief Executive Officer Jean Vernet said: ‘We are now one year into our transformation programme to build a stronger, more cohesive company. Despite a number of challenges early in the year, we have made good initial progress in building our leadership team, implementing our new operating model and deploying our focus and simplification agenda.’ The company recommended no dividend for 2023, unchanged from 2022. Looking ahead, CEO Jean Vernet said: ‘Looking forward, we continue to see supportive end markets in 2024 in the majority of our businesses and would also expect to deliver further benefits from our turnaround initiatives.’ James Fisher shares rose 1.7% to 288.80 pence each on Tuesday morning in London. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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