The international building firm behind the construction of the newly-named Queensferry Crossing expects to announce record profits later this year.
Galliford Try whose Scottish subsidiary Morrison Construction is a key plank of the joint venture partnership building the new Forth road bridge connecting Fife and Edinburgh said it continued to make good progress and focus on winning work with the best returns.
The Leicestershire-based group, also a major housebuilder, said its order book remained stable at £1.65 billion, with 82% of the new financial year’s project revenue already secured.
Galliford has had considerable success with contracts in Scotland, and has put its success north of the border down to a greater willingness to embark on large-scale infrastructure projects.
Around 150 staff are in the Queensferry area as Morrison continues work on the £790 million bridge project alongside Hochtief, Dragados and American Bridge International, with the project expected to be complete by 2016.
The new bridge’s name was formally revealed by First Minister Alex Salmond last week, following a public vote on five shortlisted options.
In a year-end trading update for the period to the end of June, Galliford yesterday said it was seeing an increase in major construction project opportunities across the piece, though pricing remained challenging.
“Our construction division has performed well in difficult market conditions, particularly demonstrated by its strong cash position,” the company said.
“Management has continued to focus on winning work which offers acceptable returns. We have won a number of exciting contracts and are seeing increased opportunities.”
Contracts sealed during the year included an £89m leisure and retail development in Birmingham, and the £52m redevelopment of the old St Clements Hospital site in East London.
In housebuilding, the group’s sales carry-forward reached a £313m record, while its land bank grew 15% to 11,300 plots, largely concentrated on better-performing markets in the south and south east of the UK. Margins and average sale prices also rose, with Galliford hailing a “strong” performance in the division.
Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald was bullish about the year ahead.
“With modest net debt, a record land bank and year-end carry-forward position in housebuilding, and a stable order book with good visibility of work in construction, we start the year in an encouraging position,” he said.