17th Sep 2013 08:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Construction firm Galliford Try PLC Tuesday reported a 17% increase in pretax profit for the full year, as its housebuilding arm performed strongly.
The company posted pretax profit of GBP74.1 million for the period ended 30 June, up from GBP63.1 million a year earlier, which it attributed to an improved margin in the housebuilding arm of 13.1%, compared with 11.8% in 2012.
Galliford said the division had been assisted by the UK government's mortgage schemes, such as the Help to Buy directive, aimed at helping first-time buyers join the property market with financing.
Group revenue, however, declined 2% to GBP1.46 billion, from GBP1.50 billion a year earlier, as its two biggest divisions, construction and housebuilding, experienced contrasting fortunes.
Galliford said revenue for the construction arm fell to GBP912.7 million, from GBP924.8 million in 2012, which was offset by a slight increase in revenue for the housebuilding division to GBP639.6 million, from GBP636.7 million a year earlier.
The company said it is now focusing on protecting margins for the construction business which has continued to be affected by challenging market conditions.
Our strategy continues to be based on winning work in markets where there are barriers to entry and we are able to add value for our clients, thus earning an appropriate margin, Galliford said.
Nonetheless, the company said it has secured 87% of its projected workload for 2014 for the construction business, while the order book stands at GBP1.7 billion.
Overall, the company reduced its net debt to GBP14.4 million, from GBP22.5 million.
"Housebuilding has delivered another very strong year of trading. This has been achieved in a disciplined manner following a doubling in size of the business in the preceding three years," Chief Executive, Greg Fitzgerald, said in a statement.
"Our deliberate investment in high return land opportunities, particularly in the south and south east, together with a greater focus on margin performance and efficiency gains and an improving market means we are well placed to deliver further good growth," he added.
The board approved a 23% increase in the dividend to 37.0 pence, from 30.0 pence.
By Anthony Tshibangu; [email protected]; @AnthonyAllNews
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