Project delays have sent envelope specialist Yuanda UK tumbling to an £11.8m pre-tax loss.
The UK’s seventh-largest envelope contractor fell into the red in the year ending 31 December 2023, dropping from a pre-tax profit of £635,000 in 2022. Directors attributed the loss to “prolonged programmes” on its ongoing projects.
According to the newly published results for the full 12 months, turnover also halved, falling from £103.3m to £50.9m, although the firm won new projects worth £48m across the year. Cash remained steady, dipping by only £30,000 to £1.24m.
After liabilities plummeted from £400,000 to £11.7m, directors reported that the firm would depend on its Chinese parent company for support “for the foreseeable future”.
Among the seven projects it worked on in 2023 were 225 Marsh Wall in Canary Wharf and 101 Prince of Wales Drive in Wandsworth, south London.
Yuanda also struggled with fluctuating shipping costs, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and from failing to win “target projects”, according to the firm. It added that its ability to secure future projects would depend heavily on the pound’s performance in relation to the Chinese yuan and US dollar, and to a lesser extent the euro.
Directors also wrote that the business was concerned about attracting and keeping competent staff heading into 2024, amid the rising cost of living. The average number of employees dropped from 59 to 49 in 2023, with the reduction coming from the sales and technical side.
Despite the firm’s difficulties, directors wrote that there remained good opportunities within its mid- to high-end residential focus, particularly in London, which they predicted would recover well in 2024 and beyond.
Yuanda focuses on bespoke facades and has in recent years worked on prestige skyscrapers including the £140m One Blackfriars and the £400m 100 Bishopsgate, both for Multiplex.
