59% rise in pre-tax profits at Severfield
Engineering and steel structuring firm Severfield has posted a 59% increase in its half-year pre-tax profits to £12.9m, during which time it undertook work at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium and the retractable roof at Wimbledon No 1 court.
The Thirsk-based company now has a UK order book of £245m and expects its full year results to be “comfortably ahead of expectations.” The half-year results to 30 September showed that revenue was up 16% to £137.1m, compared to £118.2m for H1 2016, and the interim dividend increased by 29% to 0.9p per share.
More than 80 projects were undertaken during the period in key market sectors including the new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur FC, the retractable roof for Wimbledon No. 1 Court and a new commercial tower in London at 22 Bishopsgate.
It received a share of profit from its Indian joint venture of £0.1m (H1 2016: loss of £0.2m) Its UK order book stood at £245m at 1 November 2017 (1 June 2017: £229m) and Indian order book stood £79m at 1 November 2017 (1 June 2017: £73m).
Alan Dunsmore, acting chief executive, said: “I am delighted to be reporting a strong set of results for the half year, which reflects the Group’s continued delivery against our strategic targets, improved margins and strong cash generation. Building on this performance, we now expect that our full year results will be comfortably ahead of our previous expectations.
“Severfield, with its market-leading position, strong order book and pipeline, is well placed to continue to deliver enhanced value for shareholders.”
Severfield is the UK’s market leader in the design, fabrication and construction of structural steel, with a total capacity of c.150,000 tonnes of steel per annum, which represents 17% of UK structural steel production.
The Group has four sites, 1,400 employees and an established foothold in the developing Indian market through its joint venture partnership with JSW Steel.
The Severfield management team has successfully undertaken an operational turnaround plan since 2013 and in 2016 set out their key strategic target, to double underlying profit before tax to £26m by 2020.
