27th Oct 2006 07:01
Galliford Try PLC27 October 2006 GALLIFORD TRY PLC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING STATEMENT David Calverley, Chairman of Galliford Try plc, will make the following commentsat the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held at 12:00 noon today: "The past year has transformed the business. Galliford Try has become one of theUK's major construction businesses following the acquisition of MorrisonConstruction in March and the acquisition of Chartdale Homes in February hassignificantly accelerated the expansion of our housebuilding division. Theintegration of these companies has gone well and we now have a combined businessthat will generate revenues of significantly over £1 billion in the currentyear. Our construction businesses have continued to perform well in the first quarterof the year. Cash generation has remained good since the financial year end withmonth end balances exceeding those at 30 June 2006. Our total construction orderbook stands at £2.4 billion. Following the Morrison acquisition, we reorganised our construction activitiesinto building and infrastructure divisions. In building, we are now one of theUK's premier contractors. From regional centres in Scotland and throughoutEngland we are taking advantage of good opportunities in the specific marketsectors in which we operate, affordable housing, commercial, education, health,interiors and leisure. We are making good progress on our multi-school PFIprojects in Northamptonshire and the Highlands of Scotland, and have startedwork on the two city academy projects that we secured since the year end. Our infrastructure division is focused on water, highways, rail, groundremediation, engineering and renewable energy. With 90% of its work already inlong term frameworks it continues to be successful in securing new projects.Last week we announced the award of a £79 million construction contract forEurope's largest on-shore wind farm at Whitelee, Scotland, underlying ourpre-eminent position in this important growth market. With extensions to ourframework contracts for Scottish Water worth £130 million secured since the yearend and the award of a four year framework for the remediation of Olympic Parkin east London, we have demonstrated our appetite and scope for growth. Sales in our housebuilding division since the start of our new financial yearare significantly higher than last year as demand for our homes remains strong.We have currently either reserved, contracted or completed sales with a value of£164 million, a 20% increase over a year ago, representing around 58% of ourprojected sales for the year to 30 June 2007. We have recently secured a numberof quality sites, without increasing our proportion of apartment developments,and our landbank currently stands at 4,404 units, up from 2,492 a year ago.Boosted by the acquisition of Chartdale Homes, we are confident of our abilityto continue to expand the business. We are strengthening our banking arrangements to facilitate our expansion plansand have agreed improved commercial terms for a new £225 million facility withHSBC, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Our businesses are performing well and we are operating in markets with goodpotential. Our financial position is strong and we have started the year in linewith our expectations. We believe that our prospects for further growth both forthis year and beyond are good." David CalverleyChairman27 October 2006 Further enquiries to: Ann-marie Wilkinson/Geoff Callow Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial 020 7861 3232 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Galliford Try