Galliford Try swings into red after snapping up water firm as it hails ‘good progress’
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Construction firm Galliford Try has dropped into the red during the first half of the year, following its acquisition of a water firm.
Shares in the Uxbridge-based company were down slightly in Thursday morning trading after it reported a pre-tax loss of £2.6m. This was compared to a £3.9m profit last year.
However, revenue soared 10 per cent to £594m in the six months ended 31 December. This was compared to £542m in the first half of 2021.
The company acquired nmcn’s water business for £6.3m and implemented of cloud-based ERP systems worth £3.4m. Before these exceptional costs, profit before tax increased to £7.1m, compared to £4.1m in the first half of 2021.
Bill Hocking, chief executive, said: “The group has continued to perform well in the first half of the financial year, successfully managing industry-wide material shortages and inflation. I am pleased to report that we are making good progress against our sustainable growth strategy, and our target of 3% divisional operating margin across building and infrastructure.
“I am excited about the future given our excellent people, strong balance sheet, market leading sector positions, investment in supplier relationships and high-quality order book. The group continues to trade well and is well placed to continue to deliver strong performance and long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”