Consultant engineer Mouchel has posted a 28% jump in profit for the year to 31 July, despite lower margins caused by increased bidding costs.
Mouchel, which floated on the stock exchange in June, raised its pre-tax profit from £4.3m to £5.5m. But its overall margin slipped from 6% to 5.5% because of increased bidding costs, especially for contracts in its managed services division.

The group’s turnover increased 43% from £71.5m to £102.4m and turnover in its managed services division was up 65% from £35.4m to £58.3m. Contracts won included a deal to maintain and improve the M25, which brought in £10.3m. It is the first time this contract has been awarded to a single firm.

But these wins came with a price and higher bidding costs resulted in the division’s margins dropping to 4.1% from 5.9% the previous year. Mouchel’s listing cost £2.7m.

Operating margins in the group’s project services and management consultancy divisions increased during the period.