Fife-based shop, school and office fitting firm Havelock Europa has reported a pre-tax loss of £5.7 million during a “challenging” 2014 in which it wiped out debts and laid down foundations for the future.

The group saw operating profit cut from £632,000 to £180,000 as revenues fell from £89.6m to £83.4m.

Moving headquarters from Dalgety Bay to Kirkcaldy, stock rationalisation, goodwill write-off and compensation costs and other charges amounted to £5.9m, but the company says £5m of these exceptional costs are non-cash.

The pension fund deficit meanwhile trebled to £3.7m, two-thirds of the company’s current market value, and back to its 2012 level.

The group’s recovery plan includes developing a broader mix of business in order to “increase resilience and reduce dependence on particular markets and customers”.

In his annual results statement, chairman David MacLellan said: “The focus of the business continues to be centred on developing and diversifying across five main sectors: retail, financial services, Education/accommodation, healthcare and international.

“Retail, financial services and education are currently the strongest and most mature sectors and each is capable of delivering around 30 per cent of group revenue.

“Over the long term, we aim to create a balance between sectors with no one sector contributing more than 30 per cent of long term sales.

“Expansion of healthcare and international are key elements of this strategy.”

Havelock is still seeking a new chief executive after Eric Prescott stepped down last month.