Last checked at 
(Sharecast News) - Galliford Try reported a jump in half-year revenues on Thursday, but was pushed into the red following its acquisition of NMCN's water business.
The construction group saw revenues strengthen 10% in the six months to 31 December to £594m following growth in both its building and infrastructure businesses.
Operating profits before one-off costs and amortisation jumped to £6.9m from £3.9m a year previously. Building profits rose to £8.4m, from £6.0m, while infrastructure profits were £4.3m against £2.4m a year earlier.
However, acquisition and integration-related costs of £6.3m, alongside a one-off investment in IT of £3.4m, pushed the Midlands-based firm into the red. The pre-tax loss was £2.6m, compared to last year's pre-tax profit of £4.1m.
Galliford, which acquired the water business from collapsed contractor NMCN last October, said the business had been successfully integrated, "enhancing service delivery and capabilities"..
Chief executive Bill Hocking said: "The group has continued to perform well in the first half, successfully managing industry-wide material shortages and inflation.
"The acquisition of NMCN's water businesses is fully aligned with our strategy and offers significant opportunity for our growing environment business, enhancing our water, engineering, off-site build and asset optimisation capabilities."
Looking to the rest of the year, Galliford said the order book currently stood at £3.4bn, compared to £3.3bn a year ago, 90% of which is in the public and regulated sectors. In addition, 95% of the projected revenue for the current year has already been secured.
Hocking added: "The group continues to trade well and is well-placed to continue to deliver strong performances and long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders."
As at noon GMT, shares in the London-listed firm were down 3% at 179.0p.
