A “significant contribution” from Morgan Sindall’s fit-out division and a hike in infrastructure work has driven double-digit percentage increases in pre-tax profit and turnover.
Group revenue for the 2024 calendar year rose by 10.4 per cent from £4.12bn to £4.55bn – a second successive annual record.
This generated 19.5 per cent growth in pre-tax profit from £143.9m to £171.9m, the firm announced in a statement to the Stock Exchange this morning (26 February).
As a result, the group’s margin broadened from 3.5 to 3.8 per cent.
Morgan Sindall was ranked the second-biggest UK contractor in last year’s CN100 index.
Commenting on the latest results, chief executive John Morgan described “another record year” for the group, “delivering significant double-digit growth for both adjusted profit before tax and the full-year dividend, supported by our high-quality order book”.
Fit-out arm Overbury made a “significant contribution” to the group’s bottom line, the firm said. Its operating profit increased by 38 per cent to £99m while revenue rose by 18 per cent to £1.3bn.
Project wins in this division last year included jobs for Lloyds Bank in Birmingham and a 111,500 square metre project for Citi in London’s Canary Wharf.
Overbury’s order book also grew by 31 per cent to end 2024 at £1.44bn.
In all, Morgan Sindall ended last year with an order book of £11.42bn, which was 28 per cent higher than the £8.92bn it recorded in its 2023 accounts.
In 2024, the firm topped Construction News’ annual league table of contract wins for the second consecutive year, winning 285 jobs worth £3.11bn.
Operating profit in Morgan Sindall’s Construction division increased by 19.3 per cent to £30.9m from turnover of £1.04bn, up 8 per cent on the 2023 total of £967m.
Profit growth was driven by “improving the overall quality of earnings through disciplined contract selectivity and operational delivery”, the firm said. The division saw its order book rise by 20 per cent to £952m, including £771m secured for 2025.
Morgan Sindall noted that “there continues to be a significant amount of suitable work available in the market, much of which is being generated through negotiated or existing frameworks”.
Construction project wins last year included the £86m Devonshire Gardens mixed-use redevelopment scheme for Railpen in Cambridge and a £51m new-build Dumfries High School in Scotland.
The firm said it expected construction-division revenue “to slightly exceed £1bn” this year.
Morgan Sindall’s infrastructure division saw 18 per cent turnover growth to £1.05bn and its order book rose by 11 per cent to £1.88bn – almost entirely (98 per cent) through existing frameworks.
Contract wins last year included a place on a £9bn National Grid electricity network upgrade, further decommissioning work at Sellafield and a position on Network Rail’s CP7 Eastern Framework.
Morgan Sindall said it expected similar infrastructure turnover of about £1bn for 2025.
Among its other divisions, partnership housing’s revenue increased by 3 per cent to £861m and property services’ turnover rose by 21 per cent to £223m.
But turnover from mixed-use partnerships more than halved from £185m to £91m and operating profit in the division plummeted from £14.5m to £1.5m.
Group-wide building safety provisions totalled £56.8m by the end of last year, up slightly from £56.1m at the start of 2024.
“It is possible that as remediation work proceeds, additional remedial works are required,” the firm noted.
It added that “uncertainties also exist in respect of the timing and extent of expected recoveries from other third parties involved in developments”.
Cash at hand remained stable at £544.2m, up slightly from £541.3m in 2023. When short-term repayable bank overdrafts of £51.8m are subtracted, Morgan Sindall’s net cash was £492.4m.
There was a total dividend payout of £56.1m compared with £48.1m in 2023.
Looking ahead, Morgan said: “We are well-positioned for the future and on track to deliver an outcome for 2025 which is in line with our current expectations.”
He noted “continued uncertainty in the wider macroeconomy” but said “we remain positive for the year ahead”, based on the group’s growing order book.
