Costain swings to FY operating profit

14th Mar 2023 10:48

(Sharecast News) - Construction group Costain said on Tuesday that it swung to a full-year operating profit as revenues grew.

In the year to the end of December 2022, the company swung to a reported operating profit of £34.9m from a loss of £9.5m a year earlier, while adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £34.2m from £26.3m. Revenues were ahead 25.2% at £1.4bn.

The company had net cash at year end of £123.8m, up from £119.4m and ahead of market expectations.

Costain said the order book fell to £2.8bn from £3.4bn, reflecting mainly market cycles, risk management of contract bidding and the timing of major contract bids with awards expected in FY23. The preferred bidder book rose to £1.6bn from £0.9bn.

Chief executive Alex Vaughan said: "Costain has effectively negotiated the challenges of material availability and inflation, as well as delays to some contract awards, delivering a robust operational performance. We expect to increase margins as we enact further operational improvements in the business during 2023 and beyond, and as we continue to grow the scale of our consultancy services.

"While we are mindful of the macro-economic backdrop, the quality and nature of our secured and preferred bidder work gives us good visibility on future revenue and we remain confident in the Group's strategy and long-term prospects."

At 1045 GMT, the shares were up 7.7% at 48p.