21st Feb 2019 10:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - Construction firm Morgan Sindall PLC hiked its 2018 dividend Thursday after profit jumped amid another "strong" year of growth for the company, with momentum set to continue into 2019.
In 2018, pretax profit increased 24% to GBP80.6 million from GBP64.9 million the year prior. This was after revenue rose 6.5% to GBP2.97 billion from GBP2.79 billion the year before.
The company's committed order book fell 5.3% to GBP3.6 billion from GBP3.8 billion the year prior.
"2018 has been another year of strong growth for the group and these excellent results reflect the high quality of our operations and our people," Morgan Sindall Chief Executive John Morgan said. "There is significant positive momentum across all divisions and this provides the platform for future strategic and operational progress."
Morgan Sindall proposed a 34.0 pence per share final dividend, up 17% from 29.0p the year prior. For the full year, the dividend rose 18% to 53.0p from 45.0p the year before.
"Our strong balance sheet, with net cash throughout the year and a business which continues to generate positive operating cash flow is a significant differentiator for us," Morgan added. "This provides us with the flexibility to continue being highly selective with bidding in our construction activities while also allowing us to invest in our regeneration activities."
Morgan Sindall ended 2018 with a net cash position of GBP207 million, up 7.3% from GBP193 million the year prior.
"Looking ahead to 2019, we are confident of another good year of progress and the group is in a strong position to deliver on its expectations", Morgan continued.
Shares in Morgan Sindall were 3.7% higher at 1,176.00 pence on Thursday.
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Morgan Sindall Group