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Losses widened at a leading Teesside firm as the group’s key markets suffered at the start of the pandemic, a new report has revealed.

The Wilton Group has released accounts for the year ending June 30 2020 which show the company’s losses widened to £937,000, despite a slight increase in turnover to £11.9m.

The group’s main activity is the manufacturing of marine and offshore projects, but it has been diversifiying in recent years to reduce its exposure to the volatile oil and gas market.

In the accounts, the company said that its diversification strategy had taken longer than expected to take effect, but was now beginning to bear fruit with an increased order book.

It said it was confident it would return to profitability “for the foreseeable future” soon.

A Wilton Group spokesperson said: “These figures represent a period when the business was transitioning into new markets, which was starting to gain traction despite outside influences such as the cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry, the low levels of º£½ÇÊÓƵ content procurement in the offshore wind sector and the onset of the global pandemic.

“While the subsequent year was dominated by coronavirus we adapted quickly, and we have seen positive signs in the market.

"This has led to the business significantly increasing our headcount to service a growing order book, which has grown from £5m to £13m in existing markets such as oil and gas, but also in the defence and mining sectors.