Severfield optimistic about the future as orders soar

The Thirsk-based group said it is currently performing well and it made good progress in the second half of its 2021 financial year, which ended on March 31.

Whilst it is mindful of the Covid-19 backdrop, the group said it is optimistic about the future.

"We continue to regularly win high-quality work, resulting in a strong order book of £315m, which supports trading throughout the 2022 financial year and beyond," the group said in a trading update.

"We have an encouraging pipeline of opportunities in the UK, Europe and India, a strong balance sheet position, expertise in managing complex projects and good long standing client relationships. This leaves us well-placed to win work in the diverse range of market sectors and geographies in which we operate and across a wide client base, providing us with extra resilience and the ability to increase our market share in the future."

The group said it was well-prepared for and coped well with the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the most recent national lockdown in January.

Its factories and sites are fully operational, and it has been trading at normal (pre-pandemic) levels, in line with Government and industry guidelines, since the beginning of the second quarter of the 2021 financial year.

In the second half of the year, it secured a significant amount of new work, resulting in a UK and Europe order book of £315m on April 1, up from an order book of £287m last November.

"We remain very encouraged by the current level of tendering and pipeline activity across the group," the firm said.

"We continue to see a good number of opportunities, albeit at more competitive prices given the current market conditions, in our key market sectors, including in the industrial and distribution, transport infrastructure, stadia and leisure, nuclear and data centre sectors."

Severfield has made no claims for support under any employee-related Government schemes (including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) and all PAYE, VAT and other Covid-related tax deferrals have now been repaid in full.

The firm has strengthened its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by signing up to SteelZero, a global initiative to speed up the transition to a net zero steel industry.

SteelZero is led by the international non-profit organisations, the Climate Group and Responsible Steel. This customer-led initiative, which aims to drive a major shift in the global market for the responsible sourcing and production of steel, is being signed up to by an increasing number of steel buyers, both in the UK and internationally.

Jenny Chu, head of energy productivity initiatives at the Climate Group, said: "We are delighted that Severfield, one of the UK’s leading structural steel construction companies, has become the latest member to join SteelZero.

"The initiative gives forward-looking companies a springboard from which they can use their collective purchasing power and influence to demonstrate there is strong demand for clean and sustainable steel."