Galliford Try shares jump as construction firm reports profit boost

By:

Retail Reporter

Add as a preferred source on Google
The number of build to rent completions has increased by almost 16 per cent in the past year
The number of build to rent completions has increased by almost 16 per cent in the past year

Shares in Galliford Try rose nearly eight per cent in early trades after the company reported a double-digit jump in revenue.

Revenue increased 12.7 per cent to £923.2m in the six months to December 31, while profit before tax rose 22 per cent to £20.5m.

The company also reported “increased confidence” and said revenue and adjusted profit before tax for the full financial year are expected to be above the top end of the range of current market expectations.

Galliford Try, which focuses on designing, building, and refurbishing infrastructure in the UK, is set to benefit from the government’s push to build in the UK.

The company said it was “well-placed” to support the government’s “commitment to growth” and that it had an order book of £3.9bn.

Galliford has already won contracts for Southern Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water, totalling £1bn.

Galliford Try’s chief executive Bill Hocking said: “The group’s excellent performance in the first half of the financial year provides increased confidence and improved revenue, margin and profit expectations for the full year.

“In addition to our continued successes in building and environment we see a pipeline of opportunities across all our chosen sectors. Our track record of operational delivery, focused risk management, committed people and established relationships with our supply chain and clients provides consistency to our results.

“Our recent major long-term framework wins and order book provide clear visibility and security of future workloads well beyond the current financial year and we welcome the Government’s commitment to grow the economy by major investment in infrastructure and development.”

Panmure Liberum analysts rated the Galliford Try a ‘Buy’ with a target price of 480p, up from 430p. Analysts upgraded the stock to reflect this morning’s profit upgrades and said they were “particularly excited” about opportunities in the water market.

Cavendish analyst Max Hayes said the results were “strong”, giving the stock a target price of 527p and raising his forecast.

“Performance shows encouraging early progress against its 2030 growth targets,” Hayes said, adding that the company had “momentum”.

Galliford Try raised its interim dividend by 37.5 per cent year on year to 5.5p.