Galliford Try Regulatory News (GFRD)

Galliford Try Holdings plc

Trading Update

19 January 2022

Galliford Try Holdings plc, the UK construction group, today provides an update on trading for the half year period from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021. The Group expects to announce its results for the half year on 3 March 2022.

Update on Current Trading

The Group is performing well, with trading in line with the Board's expectations. We have made further good operational progress in the half year and continue to execute against our Sustainable Growth Strategy.

All of the Group's projects are fully operational in line with the latest Government and industry Covid guidelines. Our disciplined approach, investment in modern construction practices and digitalisation, and active engagement with our supply chain have proved particularly important during the recent period of materials shortages and inflation. We continue to manage these challenges effectively and without any material impact on trading.

We are making excellent progress with the integration of the nmcn water businesses, acquired in October 2021, and are pleased with the commitment and contribution of all those associated with the acquired business. The half year results will include non-underlying costs in respect of the acquisition and integration, and in relation to our investment in cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

Balance Sheet

The Group's strong balance sheet continues to be a differentiator, supporting our ability to win high quality contracts and framework positions as well as providing confidence to our supply chain.

The average month-end cash for the six months ended 31 December 2021 was circa £180m (year to 30 June 2021: £164m) and period-end cash at 31 December 2021 was circa £210m (31 December 2020: £211m). The Group has a portfolio of PPP assets, no pensions liabilities and no debt or associated covenants.  

Order Book and Outlook

We are encouraged by the pipeline of new opportunities across our chosen sectors, which align to our Sustainable Growth Strategy. Our strong track record and focus on the public and regulated sectors makes us well placed to benefit from increasing Government investment in economic and social infrastructure, and our pipeline of work with high quality private sector clients continues to be robust.

Recent project wins, contributing to our £3.4bn order book, include our share of the £7bn Department for Education 2021 Construction Framework, the £55m Galashiels Community Campus on behalf of Scottish Borders Council and Hub South East and a £56m private rented sector (PRS) scheme in Milton Keynes.

Bill Hocking, Chief Executive, commented:

"We are pleased with our performance in the first half of the financial year.

We have made strong progress on our strategic objectives. Our recent acquisition of nmcn's water business, fully aligned to our strategy, offers significant opportunity to the Group and our water sector and related clients.

With our excellent people, strong balance sheet, market leading sector positions, and high-quality order book we are well placed to deliver strong future performance and long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders."

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Note to Editors

Galliford Try is a trading name of Galliford Try Holdings plc, 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 (environment and highways) projects with clients in the public, private and regulated sectors across the UK.