Morgan Sindall delivers another record year of profit

Another bumper year at Morgan Sindall’s construction, infrastructure and fit-out operations saw the firm deliver record profits and turnover despite a loss at the property services business.

Chief executive John Morgan said fit-out is set for an even stronger performance this year

Revenue across the group jumped 14% to top £4bn for the first time, while pre-tax profit soared by nearly 70% to £144m.

Even in the face of inflationary challenges in the first part of the year, group operating margin reached 3.4%, with fit-out and infrastructure hitting target levels of 6.5% and 4.3%.

Morgan Sindall ended 2023 with a 5% bigger order book at £8.9bn. While orders were marginally down at construction and infrastructure, the fit-out business continued to soar with order levels up 30% on the prior year at just over £1bn.

Chief executive John Morgan said that with inflation falling in most areas, challenging market conditions at the beginning of the year were easing to become more manageable and predictable.

But he warned the threat of subcontractor failures had grown.

Morgan said: “The ongoing stability of the supply chain has become more uncertain with liquidity issues increasingly common, requiring additional vigilance both pre-construction and during the delivery of projects.”

He added: “Despite facing market headwinds in the year and the disappointing losses in Property Services, the diversified nature of our operations and capabilities has allowed us to continue to make significant strategic and operational progress.

“In addition, our focus on positive cash flow together with our strong balance sheet has positioned us well to benefit over the long term from the opportunities available in our markets.

“Looking ahead, while there remains some uncertainty in the wider economy, reducing inflation and the prospect of lower interest rates provides a backdrop of confidence for the year ahead.

“Together with our high-quality and growing order book spread across a wide number of sectors covering the built environment, we are well-positioned for the future and on track to deliver a result for 2024 which is in line with our current expectations.”

Morgan Sindall’s average daily net cash for the year was £282m (FY 2022: £256m). In the year ahead the firm said it expected to improve this with average daily net cash for 2024 over £300m.

Morgan Sindall delivers another record year of profit | Construction Enquirer News