Firm posts improved set of interim figures
Having a strong balance sheet means clients and subcontractors “can sleep at night”, the boss of Galliford Try has said.
The firm delivered an improved set of interim figures this morning with revenue up 21% to £819m and pre-tax profit up 81% to £13m. Average month end cash for the six months to December 2023 was flat at £150m.
Chief executive Bill Hocking said clients were being more diligent over firms’ balance sheets in the wake of high-profile collapses last year and added: “They want a contractor with a good reputation. A strong balance sheet means they can sleep at night.
“It also helps the supply chain as well because they know they’ll get paid and they can sleep at night too.”
He added: “We don’t allow revenue to ever be the driver [of the business]. It means you take on far fewer loss-making projects and we have the discipline to say no in a nice way and walk away from contracts. It protects the business.”
He said the winner of the expected general election this year wouldn’t make too much of a difference to workloads. “There is a lot of work out there that needs doing, whoever gets in. We don’t see any government curtailing that spending.”
He added the firm had not seen any work being redirected in the wake of last year’s decision to cancel the HS2 leg from Birmingham to Manchester. “I didn’t agree with it. It was pretty short-sighted.”
The firm said it spent a further £2.6m on a new IT system during the period which went live last September.
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