Aukett slashes interim loss

17/06/2010 Robert Tyerman

International architect and interior design specialist Aukett Fitzroy Robinson sounds upbeat after cutting first-half losses from £1.2 million to £299,000.

The London-based company saw turnover halve to £4 million in the six months to March, which chief executive officer Nicholas Thompson blames on a slowdown in Russian operations and reduced activity in Middle East commercial markets. But AIM-quoted Aukett managed to cut costs by £3.5 million and reduced net debt by £488,000.

At home, the company turned a £1.8 million UK loss into a £22,000 operating profit in the first six months and enhanced its prestige by winning two awards from the British Council for Offices. Aukett’s Berlin and Frankfurt offices generated a reduced profit of £65,000.

However, the company’s Russian business turned a £595,000 profit into a £342,000 first-half loss as turnover there collapsed from £1.9 million to £181,000, with clients deferring projects or being taken over by their banks. Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia produced a combined loss of £72,000, down by £13,000, on turnover 15 per cent lower at £647,000.

In April and May, Aukett recovered £1 million of outstanding debts and says it hopes to receive another £1.2 million once properties on which it has secured charges are sold. Longer term, the company, whose London clients include Land Securities, the Grosvenor estate, GE Capital and Great Portland Estates, suggests an expected recovery in the capital’s commercial rents by 2012 will coincide with demand for the renewal of commercial properties in London.

Aukett shares, which fell from nearly 18p in 2007 to 2.5p within the past year, now stand at 4.13p. That values the company at an undemanding £6 million.