PRE-TAX LOSSES at the Irish arm of consultancy engineering firm Mott McDonald rose by 288per cent to €2.2 million last year.

Accounts just filed show that revenues at UK-owned Mott McDonald Ireland Ltd declined by one-third to €12.9 million in the 12 months to the end of December last.

The group has worked on the Government’s inter-urban motorway programme and the Luas in Dublin.

The directors said they “are satisfied” with the group’s performance for the year.

According to the directors’ report “the further deterioration in the economy in 2011, and in particular the construction industry, had a material effect on the year’s performance”.

The accounts note that its cost of sales were reduced by 40 per cent in 2011 to €7.3 million.

“Significant investments and cost reductions helped the performance for the year, but the benefit was only starting to show in the last quarter of 2011,” the accounts state. “The forward order book for the next 12 months is relatively good with almost 75 per cent of the 2012 budget contracted compared to 65 per cent at this time last year.”

The accounts state that “business remains challenging” but the directors and its parent company are “confident” that 2012 would see an “improvement” in its financial performance.

The company received a cash injection of €2.9 million in 2011.

Last year’s 2011 deficit increased the company’s accumulated losses to €3.8 million and its shareholder deficit stood at €900,713 at the end of the 2011.

The loss last year takes account of combined non-cost depreciation and amortisation costs of €338,134.

Mott McDonald’s Irish business did not pay a dividend last year in contrast to 2010, when it paid €658,883 to its parent group.

In response to the decline in business, the number of staff fell from 162 to 135 last year.

The company has offices in Dublin, Cork and Waterford.

Staff costs were cut from €11.4 million to €10.2 million, with remuneration for the seven directors reducing to €1 million in 2011 from €1.44 million in the previous year.