Construction company chief executive stands down as it reports 91% profit hike
THE head of regeneration specialist St. Modwen, Bill Oliver, has announced he is to relinquish his post as the group’s chief executive.
The announcement overshadowed the release of the group’s full year results today, which showed a 91% increase in pre-tax profit to £258.4m (2014: £135.4m).
Oliver will retire officially on November 30, 2016, at the end of the company’s financial year, by which time he will have served 13 years as chief executive and 17 on the group’s board.
St. Modwen said the announcement was being made now in order to ensure that the board had the necessary time to conduct a search for his successor.
Commenting on Oliver’s retirement, Bill Shannon, chairman of St. Modwen, said: “Bill has made a significant contribution to both the property industry and St. Modwen during his long and successful career as both Finance Director and Chief Executive.
“Bill will continue to play a full and active role in the business, supported by his experienced senior management team and will remain a member of the board and continue as chief executive until November.”
Oliver said: “It has been a great privilege to have been part of St. Modwen’s success over the past 17 years. 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the company’s listed status and the business remains in a strong position with a portfolio and team in place to deliver excellent future growth.
“I would like to thank all of St. Modwen’s employees, past and present for their hard work and dedication and for helping to make my time at the company such a rewarding and enjoyable experience.”
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Property profits rose 31% to £67.4m (2014: £51.3m) and the total dividend for the year increased by 25% to 5.75p per share (2014: 4.6p per share).
The full year’s results show shareholders net asset value (NAV) grew 27% per share to 413.5p (2014: 325.1p), and estimated profit per share was up 30% to 446p (2014: 342p). Earnings per share grew 82% to 97.9p (2014: 53.8p).
Richard Bannister, Yorkshire and the North East regional director added:”The commercial property market across Yorkshire and the North East continues to gain momentum.
“As a sign of the growing strength of the region’s property market we continue to increase our commercial development pipeline. We recently received planning consent for two new developments in Doncaster, including 250,000 sq ft of new warehouse and commercial space at Parkside Business Park, which will begin construction in early 2016.
“Demand for high quality, refurbished industrial units remains high across the region and we now have full occupancy at the majority of our industrial sites
“Our confidence in the market is reflected by the growth of the regional team, bringing additional expertise and knowledge to support the ongoing expansion and development of our existing portfolio.”
In addition, it said the commercial property development pipeline continued to deliver a strong flow of profits, while there was continued growth in residential development profits.
Overall, the group said it remained well positioned for continued growth, supported by a healthier investor market during 2016 for the disposal of mature assets.
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