Pochin reports £3.1m half-year loss

26 January, 2010

By Joey Gardiner

Revenue falls to £47.5m as listed builder and developer forced to write down value of property joint ventures

Listed builder and developer Pochin’s has reported half year losses of £3.1m after revenue fell to £47.5m.

The firm, which is involved in construction, housebuilding, concrete pumping and development, had reported a £319,000 profit for the equivalent period in 2008, on revenues of £49.9m.

The loss comes after the firm was forced to write down £3.7m related to the value of property joint ventures.

Pochin’s chair Richard Fildes said: “A re-assessment of value of one of the large jointly-held development sites has been necessary and, in another location, Pochin's is being required to support a joint venture where continuing voids in a completed development are proving painfully persistent.”

In addition he said the company’s concrete pumping division was continuing to suffer “damaging losses” and that the recent bad weather had exacerbated the weakness in construction activity.

However it said its construction division had “performed well” and that commercial property values were stabilising.

He added it was “difficult to forecast an early return to the levels of development and construction activity of two years ago.”

The Concrete Pumping industry is being hit all over the world. I have talked to so many people in our chat room from all over the world and things are really getting bad. We might need to rethink our plan that we came up with last year and tighten our belts even more.

that's why we need the kind of regulations and standards put forth by the crane industry. we are the dirty little whore's at the bottom of the construction industry now.

Bring your prices up and stand firm! The only way it will change.