Galliford Try chief executive David Calverley has admitted that the contractor has failed to deliver acceptable results to shareholders.
In interim results for the six months to 31 December, Galliford Try announced a pre-tax profit of £3.6m after restructuring costs, a fall of £3m on the comparable period in 2001. This was because of a £3.5m loss in construction.

Calverley said the appointment last month of Andy Sturgess to head the construction division, and a structural review lasting until June, will bring it back into the black by the time of its annual results. Pre-tax profit is expected to be at about the same level of £400,000 that it reported in its last full-year results.

He added: "We have a fundamentally good construction business. What we failed to do was deliver results to shareholders."

Galliford Try's housebuilding division was more successful. Operating profit during the six months was £10.5m on a turnover of £72m, up from £7.9m on a turnover of £63m last year.

  Calverley said he expected the housebuilding division to remain strong, as the company has reduced its exposure to the hard-hit London and high-end residential markets.