The construction firm behind the acclaimed rebuilding of south Belfast's iconic Lyric Theatre, Gilbert Ash, has been filing its accounts.

And while the Belfast-based construction firm Gilbert has reported pre-tax profits of nearly £700,000 for 2010 on a turnover of £94m, when compared to the previous year, both turnover and profits were down.

However as the statistics are published against a backdrop of continuing recession in the Northern Ireland construction sector, these are good results with the firm expecting to remain profitable

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A company spokesperson told the BBC that the outlook remained "challenging" and "extremely competitive" but it expects to remain profitable in 2011 and points to the lack of development finance and public sector cuts as the key business risks.

Gilbert-Ash has been in business for more than 100 years and in that time has grown to become one of the largest construction companies operating in Northern Ireland.

The company was acquired by Bovis Limited in 1964, however there was a subsequent management buy out in 1974 and since then the company has been wholly owned by the local directors and staff.

Gilbert-Ash has been responsible for the construction of many of the country's most substantial and challenging contracts across various sectors.

An associated company Gilbert-Ash Fitout Ltd, is responsible for smaller building projects including maintenance, refurbishment and shopfitting. It has also carried out numerous contracts in Europe, Asia and further afield.

(BMcC/GK)