T.Clarke warns on 2011

In a trading statement the board said that not only will its 2010 results be below current market expectations, but 2011 could be even worse.

The cash position remains positive, with £7m in the bank at year end, and no borrowings. Final dividend payments are to be reduced though.

Order book at year-end was £190m, compared to £160m at the end of 2009.

The use of the T.Clarke brand has been extended. As of 1 January, subsidiaries Aylward EMS based in Huntingdon and Anglia Electrical Services based in Kings Lynn have come together as one business under the name of T.Clarke East.  Mitchell & Hewitt in Derby has been folded into T.Clarke Midlands, based in Peterborough.

Group chief executive Mark Lawrence said: "Whilst the competitive market has adversely impacted the group's performance, we remain confident about the long-term potential.  There are a number of significant projects commencing over the next 12 months.  T.Clarke is a profitable business and extremely well placed to benefit from this upswing in work and this underpins our strategy for organic growth and our unstinting commitment to deliver long-term value for all our shareholders."

Review of projects

The Intelligent Buildings division is completing works on the Olympic Stadium in London and has secured contracts for a Data Centre in Leeds, projects for Aberdeen University and Fife Council and for the installation of CCTV to four power stations in Scotland for British Energy.

Green Technologies, the new ECO Solar division based in the southwest, offers customers energy saving solutions including solar panels.  The government's feed-in-tariff scheme enables customers to earn a good return on their investment in green technology. Opportunities are being explored with schools, colleges and housing associations.

New public sector projects include several education projects, such as Highwood Primary School at Bushey in Hertfordshire, Roecroft Lower School at Stotfold in Bedfordshire, Heathcote School 6th Form Block in Chingford, Essex, Newcastle University and Campsmount Technology College in Doncaster.  T.Clarke has also won projects at Wellingborough Health Care Centre, Northamptonshire and the upgrade of HMP Buckley Hall.

Other project wins include: a flight crew training centre in Greater Manchester for Oxford Aviation; the upgrade of the HV Power Network for Springfields Nuclear Fuels in Preston; the redevelopment of Gateshead International Stadium; and a project for the ITV Studios in Leeds.

The John Lewis at Home stores in Tunbridge Wells and Croydon have recently been completed and T.Clarke is the preferred bidder for the store in Exeter. The Waitrose store at Canary Wharf is being refurbished and three new ones are being built in the Channel Islands.

In London the company is working on schemes for Deutsche Bank, Reuters and Rothschilds, as well as the Bovis Lend Lease New Head Office and Land Securities' commercial development scheme at Park House on Oxford Street. It is also the preferred bidder for Turner Broadcasting, part of Time Warner, for the extensive upgrade of the infrastructure to broadcasting facilities in London.

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