Latest news with #PeterHebblethwaite
ITV News
3 days ago
- Business
- ITV News
MPs demand proof that P&O Ferries is a viable business
MPs are questioning whether P&O Ferries can stay afloat despite a written assurance from the company that it has enough money to keep trading. Last month, Liam Byrne, chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, wrote to P&O's chief executive after the company missed a legal deadline to file its accounts and its auditor, KPMG, suddenly resigned. P&O's Ferries Holdings Limited 2023 accounts are now eight months overdue - the third year in a row it has filed late. In a written response, published this morning, the boss of P&O, Peter Hebblethwaite, blamed the delay on 'a period of transformation and restructuring' and said the accounts would be published 'by early July 2025'. He added: 'P&O Ferries is a going concern, with the full backing of DP World' - the Dubai-based, global ports operator that owns P&O. Failure to report accounts on time is a criminal offence and it leaves investors, creditors, suppliers, staff and customers guessing at a company's financial health. Liam Byrne says the committee wants greater proof P&O is a viable business. 'It's good that finally P&O have come clean and said yes, they are a going concern,' Bryne told ITV News. 'But I'm asking for something simple: I want the accounts to prove it and I want the guarantees in writing from their parent company and I want those on the table. Now.' Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne MP tells ITV News he wants to see P&O Ferries' accounts. P&O Ferries has been heavily loss-making in recent years. In March 2022, the company fired 800 staff in the UK, without notice, and replaced them with cheaper agency workers in order to cut costs and avoid bankruptcy. P&O's accounts for 2022, which were submitted 13 months late, showed the company had borrowed more than £300 million from its parent company, DP World, in order to continue trading. The same accounts showed that P&O was struggling to repay the money it owed and was 'in breach of covenants with respect to its external debt'. MPs are demanding to know exactly how much financial help P&O Ferries is getting from DP World, on what terms and whether the support is enough to keep the business going. They have given the company until 16th June to offer clarity. 'P&O is not being transparent,' says Byrne. 'We are completely open to recalling P&O to give a better account of themselves in front of the House of Commons. This company is too important for it to go wrong. Too much is at stake and, frankly, this saga has been going on for too long.' P&O Ferries declined our request for comment.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
P&O Ferries auditor quits after accounting fiasco
P&O Ferries' auditor has quit after nearly two decades following years of late financial filings and the controversial sacking of UK workers. KPMG, which has audited the ferry group since 2007, has resigned from its role auditing the company's accounts with immediate effect, according to a Companies House filings. The move raises further questions for the Dover-Calais operator, which is already months late in producing financial statements for 2023. The company only submitted accounts for 2022 last December. Sources indicated that KPMG took the decision unilaterally and that it was not part of the rotation policy that can see UK companies change auditors every few years. It is understood that the ferry operator has already appointed a replacement auditor to work on the accounts, though it has not named the firm concerned. A spokesman for P&O said: 'We thank KPMG for their services as our auditors. P&O Ferries is focused on filing our 2023 accounts as soon as possible.' Atul Shah, a professor of accounting and finance at City St. George's, University of London, said: 'The fact that KPMG will not now be signing off on the 2023 accounts raises a number of questions about the reasons for the resignation.' P&O, which is owned by Dubai-based ports and logistics giant DP World, faced a political backlash three years ago after sacking almost 800 seafarers via text message and replacing them with cheaper staff. Peter Hebblethwaite, P&O's chief executive, later admitted that he deliberately chose to ignore trade unions during the process, leading Labour to introduce legislation to protect jobs and wages in the maritime sector. Last year, DP World also threatened to halt £1bn of spending on London Gateway port, which it also owns, after Louise Haigh, the then transport secretary, called for a boycott of P&O's services. Sir Keir Starmer, who had planned to make the project a centrepiece of his investment summit, was forced to intervene, stating that Ms Haigh's stance was 'not the view of the Government'. KPMG was originally hired as P&O's auditor in 2007, the year after its parent was bought by DP World for close to £4bn. P&O's 2022 filings revealed that loans from DP World swelled to more than £400m since the seafarer sackings, with the company turning to its state-backed owner three times for support. The company nevertheless argued that the accounts confirmed that it would have faced certain collapse if the mass lay-offs had been delayed. While P&O has said that it is 'on the path to operational profitability,' the legal changes in the UK, together with others in France, may push up costs again by making it all but impossible for the company to rely on seafarers brought in from Asia. KPMG declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
P&O Ferries auditor quits after accounting fiasco
P&O Ferries' auditor has quit after nearly two decades following years of late financial filings and the controversial sacking of UK workers. KPMG, which has audited the ferry group since 2007, has resigned from its role auditing the company's accounts with immediate effect, according to a Companies House filings. The move raises further questions for the Dover-Calais operator, which is already months late in producing financial statements for 2023. The company only submitted accounts for 2022 last December. Sources indicated that KPMG took the decision unilaterally and that it was not part of the rotation policy that can see UK companies change auditors every few years. It is understood that the ferry operator has already appointed a replacement auditor to work on the accounts, though it has not named the firm concerned. A spokesman for P&O said: 'We thank KPMG for their services as our auditors. P&O Ferries is focused on filing our 2023 accounts as soon as possible.' Atul Shah, a professor of accounting and finance at City St. George's, University of London, said: 'The fact that KPMG will not now be signing off on the 2023 accounts raises a number of questions about the reasons for the resignation.' P&O, which is owned by Dubai-based ports and logistics giant DP World, faced a political backlash three years ago after sacking almost 800 seafarers via text message and replacing them with cheaper staff. Peter Hebblethwaite, P&O's chief executive, later admitted that he deliberately chose to ignore trade unions during the process, leading Labour to introduce legislation to protect jobs and wages in the maritime sector. Last year, DP World also threatened to halt £1bn of spending on London Gateway port, which it also owns, after Louise Haigh, the then transport secretary, called for a boycott of P&O's services. Sir Keir Starmer, who had planned to make the project a centrepiece of his investment summit, was forced to intervene, stating that Ms Haigh's stance was 'not the view of the Government'. KPMG was originally hired as P&O's auditor in 2007, the year after its parent was bought by DP World for close to £4bn. P&O's 2022 filings revealed that loans from DP World swelled to more than £400m since the seafarer sackings, with the company turning to its state-backed owner three times for support. The company nevertheless argued that the accounts confirmed that it would have faced certain collapse if the mass lay-offs had been delayed. While P&O has said that it is 'on the path to operational profitability,' the legal changes in the UK, together with others in France, may push up costs again by making it all but impossible for the company to rely on seafarers brought in from Asia.
