Galliford Try ‘well positioned’ for government’s infrastructure push

Galliford Try is “well positioned” to capitalize on the government’s infrastructure commitments, the company said on Thursday as it revealed an excellent order book.

The construction company had an order book of £3.8bn at the end of June, an increase of 2.7 per cent on 12 months ago, of which 91 per cent is in the public sector.

Deals secured by the company include civil engineering work on behalf of Hampshire County Council and the Scottish Government.

The group has since been appointed by Wessex Water and Southern Water to work on infrastructure improvements planned between 2025 and 2030.

It was also nominated to provide fire protection, security systems and hardline FM services as part of an £835 million contract with the North of England NHS.

Under the previous UK government, there were £805 billion in infrastructure spending plans, including the high-speed rail link 2 between London and Birmingham.

The new government has promised to introduce a decade-long infrastructure strategy and build 1.5 million new homes in five years.

However, The Guardian reports that ministers were told to plan for cuts to their investment plans of up to 10 per cent ahead of this month’s budget.

Despite this, Bill Hocking, chief executive of Galliford Try, said: “The UK’s planned and required investment in economic and social infrastructure continues to support growth in our chosen markets.”

Galliford Try’s pre-tax profits tripled to £30.9m in the year to June 2024 thanks in part to strong organic growth.

Total revenue rose 27.2 per cent to £1.8bn as the company completed work delayed by inflationary pressures and public sector procurement issues.

Following the result, the London-based company intends to carry out a £10m share buyback and pay a final dividend of 11.5p per share, up from 7.5p per share from the previous year.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said: ‘Galliford Try is in excellent shape and delivering strategic, operational and financial progress. “Despite its excellent performance, we believe the shares offer excellent value.”

Galliford tests actions They rose 5 per cent to 315 pence on Thursday morning, taking their gains to around 39 per cent since the start of the year.