Permasteelisa has posted an £11.2m pre-tax loss in its latest accounts.
The company, which was the UK’s largest envelope specialist between 2018-22, blamed inflation and legacy issues for the loss in the year to 31 March 2023.
In its previous financial year, the firm, whose jobs often involve glazing skyscrapers such The Shard and One Bishopsgate Plaza, made a pre-tax profit of £993,777.
A statement from managing director John Conboye in the newly released accounts put the loss down to “resolving issues around legacy projects”.
He also pointed to the highly volatile macroeconomic climate following the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war.
“This has led to significant inflationary pressures, negatively impacting project margins across the business,” he said.
“Increased execution costs for some complex projects in [the] UK have also led to a reduction in margins.”
He added: “Management is committed in the negotiation with the main contractors to retrieve the extra costs through change orders and variations, which are not accounted for in fiscal year 2023 since they are still to be formalised.”
None of the projects in question are named in the accounts.
The losses include £6m in contract provisions described as being for “the expected net loss of fulfilling contractual obligations”.
Turnover at the contractor, whose ongoing jobs include One Leadenhall in the City of London, fell slightly to £132.8m, down from £137.6m the year before.
Last year was the first since 2017 that the company did not top the CN Specialists Index of the UK’s top 10 envelope contractors, which is ranked by revenue. It was beaten to the top spot by the residential-focused Stanmore.
Permasteelisa’s ranking was based on its 2022 accounts, in which it posted a rise in turnover of 12 per cent.