Severfield\u2019s chief executive has called his company\u2019s half-year results \u201csurprisingly good\u201d.<\/p>\n
The structural steel specialist reported a \u00a36.6m pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of September, compared to \u00a38.2m for the same period last year. Chief executive Alan Dunsmore told Construction News<\/em>: \u201cIt\u2019s been a surprisingly good and resilient six months, and we owe that to all the staff that have worked hard under difficult circumstances to deliver that.\u201d<\/p>\n Revenue was up strongly in the half year to \u00a3186m, a 40 per cent jump on the \u00a3131.7m it reported in 2019. The growth was helped by the acquisition of nuclear sector specialist Harry Peers in October 2019 for \u00a310.5m, though Dunsmore said most of the growth was organic from Severfield\u2019s existing operations. \u201cWe had a step up in activity in the second half of last [financial] year with some big projects getting under way, and that\u2019s continued into the first half of this year, so it really just reflects general contract volume,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Severfield\u2019s order book stood at \u00a3287m on 1 November, compared to \u00a3323m 12 months ago. Dunsmore said the company was \u201cencouraged\u201d by the pipeline of potential work. \u201cThere\u2019s infrastructure work and distribution centre work, there\u2019s well advertised stadiums being looked at,\u201d he said. The growth in these areas is helping to offset a slowdown in the commercial office market, although that is showing signs of a pick up in activity, Dunsmore claimed.<\/p>\n In its half-year report, the company said prices on jobs were falling as competition intensifies. Dunsmore said the decline in prices was to be expected and low-ball bidding was limited so far.<\/p>\n With the UK set to leave the EU on 1 January, and a trade deal yet to be agreed, Dunsmore said the industry could face a challenging start to 2021, and that he does not expect to see significant material or labour cost inflation, but clients could defer investments.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cLast year with all the Brexit uncertainty, the UK orders softened a little bit, but that was offset from our standpoint by our work outside the UK. But we\u2019ve got more than enough work to keep us going over the next few months through the next 1 January Brexit deadline, one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Severfield\u2019s chief executive has called his company\u2019s half-year results \u201csurprisingly good\u201d. The structural steel specialist reported a \u00a36.6m pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of September, compared to \u00a38.2m for the same period last year. Chief executive Alan Dunsmore told Construction News: \u201cIt\u2019s been a surprisingly good and resilient six months, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26091,"featured_media":402724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[564,552],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n