Galliford Try is ‘well positioned’ to cash in on the government’s infrastructure commitments, the firm said on Thursday as it revealed a bumper order book.
The construction company had a £3.8billion order book at the end of June, a 2.7 per cent rise on 12 months ago, of which 91 per cent is in the public sector.
Among the deals gained by the business included ones for civil engineering works on behalf of Hampshire County Council and the Scottish Government.
Optimistic: ‘The UK’s planned, and required, investment in economic and social infrastructure continues to support growth in our chosen markets,’ said Galliford Try’s CEO, Bill Hocking (pictured, bottom right)
Since then, the group has been appointed by Wessex Water and Southern Water to work on their planned infrastructure upgrades between 2025 and 2030.
It was also nominated to provide fire protection, security systems, and hard FM services as part of an £835million NHS North of England contract.
Under the prior UK Government, there were £805billion of infrastructure spending plans, including the High Speed 2 rail link between London and Birmingham.
The new government has vowed to introduce a decade-long infrastructure strategy and build 1.5 million new homes over five years.
However, the Guardian reports that ministers were being told to plan for cuts to their investment plans of up to 10 per cent ahead of this month’s budget.
Despite this, Bill Hocking, chief executive of Galliford Try, said: ‘The UK’s planned, and required, investment in economic and social infrastructure continues to support growth in our chosen markets.’
Galliford Try’s pre-tax profits tripled to £30.9million in the year to June 2024 thanks partly to strong organic growth.
Total revenue increased by 27.2 per cent to £1.8billion as the firm completed work delayed by inflationary pressures and public sector procurement issues.
Following the result, the London-based company intends to conduct a £10million stock buyback and pay a final dividend of 11.5 pence per share, compared to 7.5p per share the previous year.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said: ‘Galliford Try is in great shape, delivering strategic, operational and financial progress. Despite their outperformance, we believe the shares offer excellent value.’
Galliford Try shares were 5 per cent up at 315p on late Thursday morning, taking their gains to around 39 per cent since the year started.
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