CN100 firm RG Carter has increased construction turnover by almost a quarter, although its profitability was hit hard by rising costs.
The Norwich-based contractor, which specializes in public and private sector building projects, this week reported revenue of £304.1m for the 12 months to 31 December 2022.
This was up 24% on the previous year’s £244.7m, while net assets rose to £36.8m and cash reserves remained strong at £66m .
However, the company saw pre-tax profits fall from £10.6m in 2021 to just £1m in the latest period as rising costs ripped a hole in its inflows clean
A strategy report accompanying the annual accounts lodged at Companies House for RG Carter Construction Ltd said: “This reduction in profits reflects the current challenging market conditions as a result of inflationary and supply-side pressures.”
Meanwhile, parent company RG Carter Holdings raised revenue by 23 per cent in 2022 to £322.0m. Its pre-tax profit almost halved to £7.1m.
In a report alongside these accounts, chairman Robert Carter said: “The UK economy has affected the company over the past year with rising costs and inflation.
“Despite these challenges, the company continues to have a healthy forward order book and a strong balance sheet that allows the company to remain nimble and adapt as needed to maximize opportunities.”
Based on its 2021 results, the holding company was ranked 64th in the most recent CN100 index, which ranks the UK’s largest contractors by turnover.
RG Carter Construction’s operating costs rose from £237.2m in 2021 to £304.1m in the latest period.
Material, site and production costs soared by more than a third to £257.4m by 2022, while staff costs rose to £31.1m.
While the number of facilities and production staff increased over the past year, the number of administrative staff fell, leaving the total number of employees increasing by less than 1% on a monthly average of 566.
The company was one of 14 contractors recently chosen by the University of Cambridge for a £680m work on its estate.
