BAM Construct UK has hailed a year of "solid, stable performance" in 2017, despite a 26% drop in profit.
The firm’s pretax profit dipped to £19.3m in 2017, down from £26.2m the year before.
Revenue was down 10.7% to £957.5m, from just under £1.1bn in 2016.
Nonetheless, the company hailed an "excellent year" for its largest subsidiary BAM Construction, with pretax profit in its construction arm quadrupling to £20.9m, up from £5.3m in 2016.
Revenue in the division was £903.6m in 2017.
BAM Construction’s growth in profit comes at a time when other major contractors have struggled to avoid going into the red.
Last month, Interserve unveiled a £244m loss during what it billed an ‘extremely poor’ 2017, while in March Laing O’Rourke announced a £63.4m pretax loss for the year to 31 March 2017.
James Wimpenny, who was appointed chief executive in January 2018 following the retirement of Graham Cash, said: "BAM Construct UK has been consistently profitable for more than a decade. We operate in a high-risk, low-margin industry. We believe our stability and predictable performance is attractive to clients and our supply chain and is one of the reasons why much of our work is repeat business."
BAM Construct UK made an operational margin of 2% in 2017, while operating profit improved 40% on 2016 before exceptional items.
Meanwhile, BAM has no debt – its cash at the year-end was £82.3 million (2016: £116.6 million), and its order book was £1.62bn (2016: £1.65bn).
Wimpenny also highlighted the fact that the firm had reduced its Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) accidents by nearly half in 2017 (13 down from 25 in 2016), with its incident frequency rate the second lowest among Build UK members.
Wimpenny added: "BAM’s strategy will continue to be founded on operating efficiently and managing cash effectively. We aim to stay at the forefront of digital construction and data management.
"We are able to offer an integrated range of services across the lifecycle of a building and we will maintain our focus on competing for complex, high value work with clients who appreciate quality over price and value a collaborative approach."
BAM Construct UK’s companies include BAM Construction, BAM Properties, BAM Design, BAM Services Engineering, BAM Plant and BAM FM.
