Demolition specialist Keltbray has returned to profit after a significant rise in revenue.
In the year to 31 October 2022, Keltbray posted a pre-tax profit of £3.2m, in contrast to its annual losses in both 2021 (£4.2m) and 2020 (9 .4 million pounds).
Last year’s turnover was £528m, which represents growth of 35 per cent from last year’s £390m.
The company said the turnover growth was “the result of increased revenue from rail projects in our infrastructure division, together with a return to growth in the London construction market”.
The company’s order book has also increased since last year, rising to 526 million pounds from 310 million last year.
Keltbray said this was due to “improving market conditions”, particularly in the UK infrastructure markets, and its “selective focus on profitable, high-quality work rather than volume”.
Keltbray said it saw “big hits” in sectors including commercial construction, rail, energy and roads.
Despite the improved figures, the company struck a cautious note, with chief executive Darren James describing the results as a “satisfactory performance achieved against a backdrop of ongoing and unprecedented social, political and economic rifts”.
It said the better performance was due to fewer “exceptional items” which negatively affected trading performance in the previous two financial years.
James added that “controlling costs through productivity improvements is an ongoing focus,” explaining that measures such as increased technology adoption, work prioritization initiatives and overhead reductions “have contributed to a mitigation of pressure of the margins”.
He added: “We have more to do in this regard and will maintain our cost discipline throughout FY23.”
Keltbray recently announced that it would take the “difficult but necessary” action of cutting nearly 30 jobs in the office. In its last financial year, the company had an average of 1,660 employees, compared to 1,544 the previous year.
In February, after the end of its last financial year, Keltbray was fined £16m by the Competition and Markets Authority for its role in “unlawful collusion to rig bids”. Nine asbestos removal and demolition companies have also been fined.
The company was recently among five contractors chosen for a £485m nuclear decommissioning framework and has also recently been awarded £140m in energy infrastructure contracts as well as a £73m sub and superstructure contract of pounds in the Justice Quarter scheme in Fleet Street.
