Morgan Sindall has credited its selectivity regarding the quality of construction projects it undertakes for a 20% increase in pre-tax profit on flat revenue in the first half of 2019.
The company reported revenue of £1.4bn for the six months to 30 June 2019, which was broadly unchanged on the same period the year before. But adjusted pre-tax profit increased by 20% to £36.3m.
The firm’s construction and infrastructure arm improved its profit margin to 2%, up from 1.7% in the same period a year before. Operating profit in the division was up 23% to £13.9m.
In fit-out, its operating profit fell to £16.4m, down from £18.8m in the same period a year ago but operating margin was 4%.
In its property services arm, operating margin increased to 2.9%, up from 1%, and operating profit was up to £1.6m from £500,000.
The partnership housing division enjoyed a 39% increase in operating profit to £6.4m, while profit in the urban regeneration business also improved by 36% to £8.3m.
Meanwhile, the company’s secured order book was up 19% to £4.2bn and its regeneration and development pipeline grew 6.6% to £3.3bn.
Chief executive, John Morgan said: "We have had a strong first half of the year and these results underline the significant operational and strategic progress being made across the group. Our strong balance sheet including our net cash position is a significant differentiator for us, allowing us to make the right long-term decisions for the business, which best positions us in our markets for continued sustainable growth.
“There is much positive momentum across the group and with our high quality, growing order book, we are excited by the opportunities ahead. Following our strong first half performance and with the current visibility we have of the rest of the year, we now expect to deliver a result for the full year which is slightly ahead of our previous expectations."
