29 OCT 18 UPDATE ON LAING O'ROURKE19 Nov 2018 16:44
I saw the following published on 29/10/18 on LOR’s website. A large privately owned company in the UK construction industry is reporting the withdrawal of significant industry wide funding and a slowing of administrative processes. The construction sector as a whole is out of favour and nothing will change for anybody ( irrespective of individual corporate performances) until market sentiment changes. When will that be? See text below.
“Laing O’Rourke today confirmed its business turnaround is complete. However, it is not able to file its 2017-2018 (FY18) Annual Report until Christmas at the earliest, due to delays associated with historic turbulence in the construction sector.
Chief Executive Ray O'Rourke said despite meeting all performance targets, the business was disappointed to have been ‘defeated by process’; with the FY18 accounts delayed.
“Our industry has witnessed the demise of a number of companies and the withdrawal of significant funding this year. This has put enormous pressure on parties across the sector, and slowed down all regulatory, financial and administrative processes,” he said.
“Three million jobs in the UK rely on construction, and we have nation-building infrastructure to deliver. It is a tragedy to see the industry starved of oxygen like this.
In 2018, the construction industry has experienced the collapse of a number of companies, large and small. This has impacted the approach of banks, insurers, regulators and auditors – and ultimately will prevent Laing O’Rourke closing out its formal statements in the coming weeks.
Despite the delay to sign-off and publication, Laing O’Rourke continued its successful strategic plans in FY18 – and will post a profit for both its UK operations, and globally.