Chief executive Bill Hocking says industry in ‘great shape’ for years ahead
Galliford Try chief executive Bill Hocking has said the industry was in “really good shape” for the coming years as the firm saw its annual numbers grow for the fifth successive time.
Bill Hocking’s upbeat assessment came as the contractor said pre-tax profit more than doubled to £44m in the year to June on turnover up 6% to £1.9bn. The firm said operating profit was up 37% to £41m.
And the firm said its divisional operating margin was now at 3% - 12 months ahead of its target.
Hocking said: “The industry is in really good shape. There is more mature, sensible client procurement and attitude to risk.
“Going around [the country], you realise there is an enormous amount of work to be done on schools, hospitals, prisons, roads.”
He said he expected the firm’s growth of the last five years to soften in the coming 12 months but added: “2027 and 28 are already looking very strong.”
The firm’s order book at the year end was up 8% to £4.1bn while net cash for the year was up 5% to £238m. Average month end cash was up 15% to £179m.
Hocking said a strong balance sheet meant it could attract the best subcontractors. ”You need to look after the A team supply chain, keep them on side, pay them on time.”
The firm, which has taken on around £400m-worth of work from ISG which collapsed a year ago this week, said that it has largely been unaffected by building safety hold-ups but has recently submitted plans for a 28-storey resident tower in Milton Keynes.
Hocking said: “We know there has been a bit of a logjam but I sense it is going to ease. We’ve gone through [the application] in immense detail.”
Galliford Try said that its final dividend payment of 13.5p will be a 17% increase on last time while the firm announced details of a £10m share buyback initiative which Hocking said meant the amount handed back to shareholders, including dividends, in the past few years stood at £108m.
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