McGill’s has blamed the pandemic for a slump in its total profits from £1m to £425,510.
The Greenock-headquartered bus company's accounts for the year to 27 December 2020 showed an operating profit of £968,245 compared to £1.7m the previous year. The pre-tax profit was £602,796.
While net cash from operating activities increased from £2.8m to £6.8m, turnover dropped marginally from £36.6m to £36m during the reporting period.
The accounts also revealed that McGill’s reduced its employee headcount during the year, from 693 to 677, with the wage bill correlating from £19.8m to £19m.
Directors stated that the company reached a maximum of 65% of its pre-pandemic trading level, with lockdowns and working from home trends having “greatly affected” its results. It also blamed “poor weather” for affecting the number of people taking buses.
The company credited the government’s furlough scheme and grants with letting it “trade at levels in excess of the footfall being achieved”.
Ralph Roberts, managing director at McGill’s, wrote: “The year was clearly extremely difficult and unusual in the range of challenges faced.
“However, much progress was made in terms of management of the risks of the pandemic upon the workforce and our customer.”
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