H1 revenue falls but profits up 13% for Morgan Sindall
RUGBY construction firm Morgan Sindall has seen an 8% dip in interims revenues although pre-tax profits held solid, growing 13% over the period compared with last year.
Group revenue for the first six month was £1,000m (2011: £1,087m), while pre-tax profits came in at £18.8m ((2011: £16.7m). Basic earnings per share rose 2% but there was no change in the interim dividend at 12p per share.
John Morgan, Executive Chairman, said: “We have delivered a solid performance over the first half of 2012 and we are on track to meet our expectations for the full financial year. Despite the challenging economic environment, we are encouraged by the continuing opportunities in growth infrastructure sectors and we remain committed to investing in our regeneration business to drive growth over the medium to long term.
“Whilst we expect market conditions to remain challenging in the short term, we believe our strong track record of successful delivery and our ability to provide our customers with creative, integrated solutions leaves us well positioned for the future.”
The company is involved in a number of high profile schemes within the West Midlands.
Earlier this year its Aviation division completed the new £10m air traffic control tower at Birmingham Airport, the fifth major project it has undertaken for the client.
In the commercial sector, it said relationships had been deepened with both developer St. Modwen and Birmingham City Council following the group’s appointment to deliver the £70m Longbridge town centre development.
The group has also secured the office relocation for insurance specialist, Lockton, to 45 Church Street in Birmingham, while the group’s Housing division has further strengthened its partnership with Birmingham City Council’s after the Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust was awarded a place on all three lots of its three-year New Building Housing Contractor Framework. The division has already been awarded its first project within this framework.
In addition, the group has been awarded a 10-year, £50m repairs contract by Accord Group, one of the Midlands’ largest housing associations. The contract will see the Affordable Housing operation provide refurbishment and maintenance work to empty properties and other major works, as well as day-to-day repairs and a 24-hour a day reactive repairs service.
In outlook, the group said its forward order book looked strong at £3.2bn, although this was down slightly on 2011’s £3.5bn. The regeneration pipeline stands at £1.8bn (2011: £1.8bn) with £0.6bn of opportunities at preferred developer stage, while it said a focus on growing infrastructure sectors in which it has a strong track record; rail, aviation, energy and highways, was expected to yield positive results.
Nevertheless, it warned the market would remain challenging in short-term with little sign of improvement due to the delay in any economic recovery.
