Construction News<\/em>: \u201cWe\u2019ve significantly enhanced our governance and significantly adjusted our exposure in terms of the types of contracts and the types of clients that we engage with.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s something that is constantly evolving for the better. [The loss related to the Australia contract] is treated as an exceptional item because it isn\u2019t a reflection of the business that we see today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker said the company is now focused on six sectors: nuclear and green energy; defence; data centres; rail; healthcare; and science and research.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll see us less in the residential space. And in the commercial and mixed-use [markets] we would only tend to be working with those clients that we have a long-standing relationship with, that understand us and the model and value that we bring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker also acknowledged that the company had suffered from \u201ccontracts that were signed that didn\u2019t contemplate the level of inflationary challenge\u201d, adding \u201cthere has been a lot of learnings from the inflationary environment.<\/p>\n
When CN asked Baker if there were any further skeletons in the closet, she said:\u00a0\u201cThrough the governance processes that we have, we\u2019re ensuring that we aren\u2019t in that same position again.<\/p>\n
“There aren\u2019t any further skeletons \u2013 as you put it \u2013 in the closet. We’re constantly trying to improve and it\u2019s something that\u2019s really important to us to get right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker said that while Laing O\u2019Rourke\u2019s 2022\/23 financial period had been \u201ca challenging year\u201d, there were \u201cessentially two reasons for that\u201d \u2013 inflation and the exceptional costs in Australia. She suggested these issues were now behind the company, which has \u201ca lot to be positive about for the future\u201d.<\/p>\n
Baker added that Laing O\u2019Rourke returned to profit in the first six months of its 2023\/24 financial year and extended its borrowing facility with HSBC. It also finished its past financial year with net cash of \u00a3286.3m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been through quite a process of reducing our levels of debt over the past few years,\u201d she said. \u201cThat sort of increases our resilience and has stood us in really good stead considering the rising interest rates as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Laing O\u2019Rourke\u2019s chief financial officer has denied there are any further skeletons in the company’s closet after a legacy Australian job cost the contractor \u00a3193m last year. This week, the UK\u2019s largest private contractor reported a \u00a3288m loss before tax, driven by provisions, legal costs and a write-off relating to a contract it held between …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90383,"featured_media":417721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[552,570,537],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n