Spencer in ‘good shape’ as results rocket

SPENCER Group has seen profits soar, as it focuses on sectors which offer the business significant, long-term growth potential.

Turnover at the Hull-based specialist engineering group climbed up £16.2m (20.6%) to £94.7m for the year to the end of March and pre-tax profits came in at £1.1m compared to £31,000 for the previous year.

The group, which is based at One Humber Quays, said “considerable investment” was made in staff recruitment and training, development projects and the infrastructure of the business, in line with the company strategy of building the company’s capacity to achieve sustainable, long-term growth.

Chief executive and founder, Charlie Spencer, said: “These results are encouraging, particularly in view of the fragility of the UK economy and the impact of this upon the broader construction sector.

“The business is in good shape and we are focusing on areas such as the rail and energy sectors where capital spending projects are expected to be strong, therefore offering significant, long-term growth potential. We believe this strategy will prove robust, despite some inconsistency in Government policy with regards to the energy sector which has resulted in stalled or aborted investment decisions by some power generators.

“Our track record of delivering successfully complex and challenging projects is bearing fruit, despite a very competitive marketplace.”

Spencer, which has a team of about 370, said it has won a number of “important” contracts in the year to the end of March and has seen several key project awards since then.

At the end of September 2013, the group had secured work totalling £158m, compared to £144m in the same period last year.

Mr Spencer said the group’s 45% “strike rate” of achieving success in tendering for contracts is “highly encouraging”.

Key contract wins over the year have included a biomass rail-loading facility for Associated British Ports at the Port of Hull to deliver sustainable fuel to Drax Power Station, which is about to enter the commissioning phase; a contract to carry out the largest retro-fitted bridge dehumidification project ever undertaken globally, on the East Bridge in Denmark; and the group’s first ever project for Transport For London – extensive remodelling works at New Cross Gate.

Earlier this year, Spencer’s Energy Works green energy power station project in Hull gained £20m in funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the group said good progress is being made in bringing that development to fruition.