Gateshead security firm The Protector Group has reported record levels of turnover but has warned that its profits have been dented by the collapse of Carillion.
The company, headquartered on the Team Valley Trading Estate, saw its revenue jump 19.9% during the year ending September 30 2018, from £12.2m to £14.6m.
However, the firm’s operating profit slumped to £325,000, down from £347,000 during the previous year.
Ken Slater, The Protector Group’s CEO, said: “The record growth was an excellent achievement as Carillion had been one of our largest accounts for many years and we still grew significantly despite only trading with them for one quarter of the financial year.
“As mentioned in our report, we carefully managed our exposure and the reported loss was full and final and was in respect of trading activity from October 1st 2017 to January 2018 when Carillion ceased trading. We continued to work on most of the contracts we were securing for Carillion as the projects were completed by other construction companies, in reality a silver lining as we picked up new customers as a result.”
The company’s accounts say that The Protector Group saw its profits reduced after incurring bad debt of £75,104 relating to Carillion’s collapse.
One such contract between Carillion and The Protector Group saw the North East firm tasked with the security of six train stations ran by the outsourcing group. The stations were Doncaster, Sheffield, Peterborough, Cricklewood, Hornsey and Horsham.
Rail security has been one of the sectors that The Protector Group has been expanding into over the last year, with the company winning contracts across the South of England. However, delays to the start of the contracts meant that the firm’s turnover has not increased as much as expected. This will appear on the accounts for the 2019 financial year.
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Much of the firm’s revenue growth was driven by work on HS2 and other critical national infrastructure (CNI) projects. To service these contracts the firm opened a new office in Milton Keynes. An increased number of contract wins in Yorkshire also led to the firm opening offices in Hull and Leeds.
The Protector Group has also introduced a new range of products designed to help save energy and protect the environment.
Describing the products, Mr Slater said: “We have designed and developed a new range of solar powered CCTV towers and we have invested significant sums in the manufacture of these.
“The Solar units are very popular and we are working with our customers to reduce carbon emissions following deployment of the towers across various CNI projects and general construction sites throughout the 海角视频.”