£7.8m profit for MJM in wake of cruise ship refit

NORTHERN Ireland company MJM Marine, which has interests from ship fit-outs to property and glass, has reported a 20% fall in turnover to £49.5m for 2017.

But pre-tax profits at the Newry-based company, which is owned by the McConville family, were up by around 5% to £7.8m.

The business, which recently completed fit-out work on cruise ship the Azamara Pursuit, said the year’s performance had shown strong growth and “firm focus on driving profitability”.

“The company spent considerable time in 2017 on strategic planning, developing new markets and building on capability.

“Driving lean principles and efficiencies is reflected in increased profitability.”

In June, it announced the acquisition of Topglass in Toomebridge.

The company said its Azamara Pursuit work had been the first time a major refit of a luxury ship had taken place in a UK port instead of overseas.

And it had also completed its

MJM chief executive Gary Annett

first drydock project in China.

Chief executive Gary Annett said the company was expanding further into “end to end” project management. “2017 was the first year of a strategic plan to build on our capability. While spending time on this preparatory work we have allowed for a short term decrease in turnover.

“We have put a significant effort into driving lean principles, efficiencies and continuous improvement internally to drive profitability. This is an effort that will continue throughout 2018.

“The lack of certainty around Brexit continues to be a concern and we are closely monitoring the debate to ensure we are ready to react and adapt.”