Our specialist technical reporting division.

2021 Divisional performance:

Specialist technical saw modest revenue growth of 2.1%, but a reduction in underlying operating profit of £4.1m, adversely affected by the write-off of £2.5m in relation to customer claims previously recognised but ultimately not agreed. Separately disclosed items of £2.9m recognised in the year included the impairment of tangible and intangible assets within the JFD business.

JFD experienced a mixed year. Work continued on its significant long-term projects, with three submarine rescue vessels (SRVs) and a 500m saturation diving spread all progressing well towards final milestones. One of the SRVs was delivered to its Korean customer in December and only relatively minor work is required in 2022 to complete all other projects, triggering final payment milestones.

The business is looking to secure new projects during 2022, with a strong sales pipeline, although with no new orders in hand, the projects side of the business is at a cyclical low point. Demand for diving equipment was subdued during 2021 as many customers had fewer divers in the water, largely due to COVID restrictions, and deferred spend on new equipment.

The group’s nuclear decommissioning business, JF Nuclear, showed some positive momentum during the first half of the year, but results for the full year were ultimately held back by the decision of a major customer to defer to 2022 new project awards expected in H2 2021. The level of tendering activity early in 2022 is encouraging, with new contracts for engineering design work already won early in the year.