Galliford Try Regulatory News (GFRD)

GALLIFORD TRY HOLDINGS PLC TRADING UPDATE

THURSDAY 14 JULY 2022

GOOD OPERATIONAL PROGRESS: CONFIDENT OUTLOOK

Galliford Try Holdings plc, the UK construction group, today provides an update on trading for the year ended 30 June 2022. The Group expects to announce its results for the full year on 21 September 2022.

Highlights

· Continued strong performance across operations resulting in increased revenue, pre-exceptional profit and operating margin.

· Full year pre-exceptional profit before tax expected to be at the upper end of current analyst forecasts1.

· Continued encouraging progress against our margin improvement target.

· Balance sheet strength, with circa £218m of cash at 30 June 2022 (2021: £216m) and average month-end cash during the financial year of circa £174m (2021: £164m).

· Successfully implementing our Sustainable Growth Strategy, including the integration of nmcn's water businesses.

· Confident outlook, with a high-quality order book of £3.4bn (2021: £3.3bn) and strong pipeline of future orders. 90% of revenue for the new financial year secured (2021: 90%).

1 The range of analysts' forecasts for pre-exceptional profit before tax for the year ending 30 June 2022 is £16.4m to £18.0m based on forecasts at 1 July 2022. Exceptional items for the year ending 30 June 2022 will relate to the acquisition of the water business of nmcn, and our investment in cloud-based computer software (as described in our half year results to 31 December 2021).

Current Trading

The Group's enlarged operations, following the acquisition of the water business of nmcn in October 2021, continue to make good operational progress in line with our Sustainable Growth Strategy.

We are actively maintaining close engagement with our supply chain and clients and, through careful management, we have successfully mitigated the risks of material shortages and inflation, without any overall impact on our financial performance. Our strategy and continuing investment in modern construction practices, digitalisation and off-site build, ensures a high quality service for our customers as well as helping further improve our operational performance.

On 11 July we announced our acquisition of the systems integrator and motor control centre manufacturer, MCS Control Systems Limited, adding to our environment business and advancing our Sustainable Growth Strategy.

The Group expects to report full year pre-exceptional profit before tax at the upper end of current analyst forecasts.1

Balance Sheet

The average month-end cash for the financial year to 30 June 2022 was circa £174m and, in addition, the Group has a portfolio of PPP assets, no pensions liabilities and no debt or associated covenants. During the year, the Group has invested in the acquisition of the water operations of nmcn PLC and in the strategic upgrade of our financial and commercial systems. The Group's success in securing high quality contracts and participation in key sector frameworks is supported by our strong balance sheet, which is a real differentiator for our clients and suppliers. 

Order Book

The majority of the Group's operations are in the public and regulated sectors and accordingly we remain well placed to deliver on local and national commitments to improve the UK's economic and social infrastructure and continue to see a strong pipeline of new opportunities across our chosen sectors.

In accordance with our strategy, we continue to prioritise our disciplined approach to bidding and overall risk management.

Since January 2022 we have been successful in winning a number of key projects and participation on major frameworks, with project successes in our £3.4bn order book, including:

- the £1.8bn Procure Partnerships North West Framework.

- the £1.0bn Midlands Highways Alliance Plus (MHA+) Medium Schemes Framework 4.

- the £800m NHS Shared Business Services second generation Hard FM framework, to deliver Security, Fire and Hard FM Managed Services.

- the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) and Associated Services Framework covering projects across the North East, North West, East of England and South East.

- the CCS Facilities Management and Workplace Services Framework.

- the £56m contract to build a private rented sector scheme in Milton Keynes.

- Jackton Primary and Beatlie Campus in Scotland with a combined value of around £30m.

Bill Hocking, Chief Executive, commented:

"The Group expects to report strong performance across all its operations including increased revenue, pre-exceptional profit and operating margin. We are making good operational progress in line with our Sustainable Growth Strategy, supporting our financial targets to 2026.

The Group has maintained its balance sheet strength, an even more important differentiator for our clients and suppliers in the current economic environment, as well as a high-quality order book predominantly in the public and regulated sectors. 

I continue to be impressed with, and grateful for, the professionalism and work ethic of all our people who contributed and delivered the performance of the Group during the year. 

We move into the new financial year with confidence and are well placed to deliver strong future performance and long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders."

A conference call for Analysts and Investors will be held at 09:00am BST today, Thursday 14 July 2022:

Dial-in: +44 800 640 6441(Toll Free) or +44 20 3936 2999

Access code: 617247

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Note to Editors

Galliford Try is a leading UK construction group listed on the London Stock Exchange. Operating as Galliford Try and Morrison Construction, the Group carries out building and infrastructure projects with clients in the public, private and regulated sectors across the UK.