Severfield pleased with performance as order book grows

25th Apr 2019 13:53

(Sharecast News) - Structural steel company Severfield updated the market on the financial year ended 31 March on Thursday, reporting that its overall trading performance had continued to be in line with management expectations.The London-listed firm said its financial position remained "good", with year-end net funds totalling approximately £25m, down from £33m year-on-year.In the UK and Europe, its order book stood at £274m as at 1 April - up from £230m on 1 November - and continued to include a high proportion of smaller, lower risk projects which the board said typically had shorter lead times.The order book also included the first orders secured by its new European business venture based in the Netherlands.Severfield explained that the order book remained in line with its normal levels, which it claimed typically equated to eight-to-10 months of annualised revenue."Our pipeline of potential future orders has remained stable with a good balance of work across all key market sectors," the board explained."Both order book and pipeline performance are consistent with our continued progress towards our strategic targets."Following extensive negotiations with all stakeholders, the company said it had now agreed a final settlement for the remedial bolt replacement works at Leadenhall, resulting in no further costs for the group.In India, Severfield said its joint venture had continued to perform well in the second half of the year.The market for structural steel in the country continued to improve, which it said was evidenced by its order book of £149m as at 1 April , up from £124m on 1 November.That included a large recent commercial order in the state of Andhra Pradesh."The improving market position is also reflected in a growing pipeline which includes a number of potential commercial projects, together with various industrial opportunities, including those for our joint venture partner, JSW Steel," the board said."The expansion of the Bellary facility is now underway and is expected to be completed towards the end of the 2020 financial year."Severfield said it would announce its financial results for the year ended 31 March on 19 June.As at 1319 BST, shares in Severfield were up 0.13% at 74.1p.