Briggs books higher turnover

Fife-based Briggs Marine & Environmental Services has battled choppy conditions in the oil and gas markets to report a rise in annual turnover.

The family-owned group, which supplies a range of services throughout the marine industry, lifted revenues by 6 per cent to £66 million during its past financial year thanks to increased activity in the repair of subsea cables for the offshore renewable energy industry.

However, the latest accounts show that operating profits fell to £5.4m from £6m the year before as margins tightened, with return on capital employed dipping 2 points to 23 per cent.

Burntisland-headquartered Briggs hailed it as a strong financial performance in the face of a downturn in the oil and gas sector and a “challenging economic climate” in the maritime industry.

The firm continued to secure new contracts throughout 2016, including a seven-year agreement with Peel Ports for the supply and operation of pilot launch vessels from the ports of Liverpool and Heysham. It said activity in the offshore renewable energy industry continued to create “opportunities for growth”, leading to additional investment in cable handling and diving equipment.

Collieson Briggs, managing director, said: “I am proud of what the company has achieved over the past year. The marine market sector remains challenging, and in the short to medium term, I expect the company to deliver another good operational performance in the year 2016/2017 across most existing market sectors.”

The firm, which was set up in the 1970s, has operations in Aberdeen and an international office in Baku, Azerbaijan.