Tube delays take toll on Metronet

THE projected profit bonanza from the Tube's part-privatisation has been dented by the substantial delays suffered by the main maintenance company, Metronet.

The company behind more than two-thirds of the Underground, Metronet admitted today that profits dived more than 8% to £50m last year. This was due to its inability to complete station refurbishments on time.

It is currently on site at 17 stations as opposed to a schedule of 20. Worse than that, it is contracted to finish 26 stations by next March.

Metronet is so far behind that the company admitted only 16 will be completed on time. That has meant the company taking a £14m provision for lost income from the delivery of rebuilt stations.

Metronet first admitted in the spring that it was behind on almost all its capital investment programmes and was forced into an executive shake-up which saw the departure of boss John Weight and his replacement as chairman by Keith Clarke, the chief executive of specialist engineer and design consultancy WS Atkins, which owns a fifth of Metronet.

The Metronet figures emerged in Atkins' results for the year to 31 March. Pre-tax profits fell 3% to £60m.

'The capital programme has suffered significant delays which, while not materially affecting the past year's operating performance, will - unless recovered - affect the first period [the first seven and a half years of the Metronet concession],' Atkins said.