Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff suspends trading

Harland and Wolff suspended trading on the London Stock Exchange after accounting issues delayed the publication of its annual report.

The Belfast-based firm, which owns the shipyard that built the Titanic, said it had been in “ongoing discussions” with its auditors regarding the method of accounting for revenues in some of its contracts.

It said the assessment had forced it to delay publication of its 2023 annual report until 8 July 2024.

“Trading in the company’s ordinary shares on AIM will therefore be suspended with effect from 7:30am today pending publication.” The suspension may be lifted when the report is eventually published.

However, alongside the announcement the company also published its unaudited financial results for the financial year ended 31 December 2023.

The figures showed a jump in revenue from £27.8m last year to £86.9m for the year to the end of December. The company also posted an operating loss of £24.7m, down from £58.5m.

The announcement comes amid mounting losses and weeks of uncertainty surrounding a £200m government loan guarantee, which has put the group’s future in doubt.

The Times reported in May that the Treasury intended to block the taxpayer-backed guarantee, which is intended to stabilise the firm’s finances as it preps work for a major £1.6bn contract with the Royal Navy next year.

Harland and Wolff has since denied the claims as “misleading and inaccurate.”

“Our application has not been rejected and continues to be a work in progress,” chief executive John Wood said at the time.

The company has had financial issues for decades and has a market value of just £20m, alongside a significant debt pile. It was saved from administration in 2019 via a £6m deal with the energy firm Infrastrata.

Last year, its auditors warned the business faced “material uncertainty” unless it could source fresh financing with new work.

There was significant concern in government that the 162-year-old firm could now collapse without the loan, which was conditional on it passing state-aid checks.

Should Harland and Wolff slip into administration, it would mean the demise of one of Europe’s largest heavy engineering facilities and a critical part of Britain’s maritime sector.