Billington Holdings (AIM: BILN), the structural steel and construction safety specialist, has cut its 2026 underlying profit before tax guidance to between £4.0m and £5.5m. The company announced the revision in a trading update at 7am today, before the London open.
Billington put consensus underlying profit at £8.3m as at yesterday. That figure is built from analyst forecasts and is not endorsed by the company. The new range sits roughly a third to a half below it: about 34% short at the top and 52% at the bottom.
Underlying profit before tax excludes non-underlying staff costs, other operating charges and impairment losses. The 2025 figure was £4.1m, so the bottom of the new range is just below last year’s level.
Two contracts explain the gap. An industrial project in the north of England has proved harder to deliver than expected, and after reassessing the cost to complete, Billington expects a material reduction in its margin contribution. Profits it had previously anticipated from contracts will not be recognised in 2026.
The second is a significant bridge contract at Tubecon, where client-led delays mean the contribution is now expected in 2027. A final decision on whether certain contract profits can be recognised will come after the year end, so the outcome may land at the higher end of the range.
The board stressed the strength elsewhere in the group. Contract awards announced in 2026 have combined expected values of about £120m, spanning data centres, energy, infrastructure, education and defence. The order book, meaning contracted work not yet delivered, is a record and gives good visibility through 2027 and, for certain projects, into 2028.
Whilst the Board is disappointed by the reduction in expected profitability for the current financial year, it believes that the matters giving rise to the revision are contract specific.
The Board
Billington said wider structural steelwork and construction markets remain challenging, with continued pricing pressure. Its strong balance sheet, it added, supports the order book and investment in capacity and efficiency.