Energy service company Flexlife, of Aberdeen, said yesterday it was starting to reap the dividends from cost-cutting and its globalisation strategy.
Flexlife, launched in 2007, has also refocused its business on its niche market of flexible risers and flowlines.
Chief executive Garry Millard said the company – like most others in the north-east oil and has sector – had come through a “tough” period amid the industry downturn but there were clear signs of progress.
He pointed to profits of £350,928 before interest, tax, depreciation and various impairment charges for the year to March 31.
Mr Millard was speaking after accounts from Companies House showed Flexlife, which employs 22 people at operations in Aberdeen and Houston in the US, suffered bottom-line pre-tax losses of just over £4million during the period.
This was compared with losses of £2.5million a year earlier.
Turnover plunged to £4.4million from about £9million previously as Flexlife pulled out of ancillary services to focus on its core area of expertise.
It has also shut an operation in Newcastle within the past couple of years.
Mr Millard said: “We have cut our cloth to fit the market. The past year or so have not been particularly good, but we have globalised the business and we are now seeing the benefits of that.”
Flexlife was now targeting growth in areas such as Brazil, west Africa and Asia for work as it “get backs to what we are good at”, he added.
And he revealed that the firm’s current backlog of work was worth “considerably” more than total revenue for the last calendar year.
The impairments included one-off costs linked to “premises vacated during the year” and redundancy payments of £345,228 as Flexlife cut back its workforce in response to the downturn.
In its accounts, the company said: “The business has experienced a significant reduction in revenue and associated profitability, driven by the completion of a number of projects and the downsizing of others.
“However, the group’s current main areas of business are related to the ongoing safe operation of existing infrastructure and maintaining production levels by inspection and repairs – these are areas in which clients’ spending is challenged but required and is not directly linked with oil and gas prices as spending on exploration and development.
The directors consider that the future outlook for the group remains positive”
Recommended for you
