A cyberattack which hit the global business of Aberdeen-headquartered EnerMech cost the group hundreds of thousands of pounds.
In July last year, the company confirmed it had been hit by a malware virus, adding that Aberdeen along with other regions were affected by the “security incident”.
Latest accounts for its UK and Europe subsidiary show the cyberattack struck off £327,000 from revenues last year.
It is understood that figure represents the total for the global business in terms of direct loss of revenue.
The company, which employs around 3,500 people worldwide, said at the time it had “no evidence that any personal or confidential data has been compromised by any external sources”.
The firm declined to comment on the new figures.
In its accounts, EnerMech said it “has recovered well from the cyberattack and has put enhanced securities in place to protect the business from a repeat incident”.
The cyberattack came during a year when EnerMech’s UK and European business reduced headcount by nearly a quarter – 245 workers – taking the total from 1,014 to 769.
Directors said this was due to the firm looking to “improve its efficiencies given margin pressure from its customer base”.
However, EnerMech gave no comment when asked how many of the 245 workers were compulsory redundancies.
The subsidiary’s earnings for 2019 were impacted by what it described as “continued downward pricing pressures due to the longevity of the oil industry downturn”.
Pre-tax losses totalled £21.4million, compared to losses of £17.7m 2018, while revenues dipped to £90.6m from £105m the year prior.
The outlook for 2020 “remains challenged” due to Covid-19 and the impact of the oil price, EnerMech added, though it is “well placed to service the reduced activity” amongst its customer base and is focussed on recovering from the effects of the pandemic on the business.
More positively, the firm has this year received a £50million cash injection from its parent and investors after some financial restructuring.
The move followed EnerMech’s sale to Carlyle Group in 2018, who have directly put £22.5m into the business, while £12.5m came from its lenders and a further £15m from a revolving credit facility.
The amended banking facilities have a requirement, among others, that the firm always has at least £10million in cash balances as part of a 13-week forecast, updated monthly.
On the accounts, chief financial officer Sandeep Sharma said the group continues to “actively manage” the risks created by Covid-19.
He added: “This includes on making full use of government support available throughout the various regions in which it operates, and keeping in close contact with customers to ensure that work is carried out where possible within the constraints of local lockdowns.
“The Group has also instigated cost saving programs to manage its cash flows during this time.”
EnerMech’s current chief executive, Christian Brown, has been in post since January after replacing founder Doug Duguid.
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