Pre-tax profit up 26 per cent at Carillion

27th Feb 2013 07:05

Profit before taxation rose 26 per cent in the year ended December 31st at FTSE 250-listed construction company Carillion.In its annual results for the year, the group reported that pre-tax profit has jumped to £179.5m from £142.8m one year earlier. Basic earnings per share rose 16% to 37.2p and the proposed full year dividend increased by 2.0% to 17.25p.Underlying profit from operations rose 2.0% to £232.4m while revenue fell to £4.4bn from £5.1bn a year earlier.The rise in underlying profit from operations reflected an improvement in total operating margin and reported profit before taxation and basic earnings per share both increased substantially due to minimal non-recurring and non-operating items. However, the company reported that the revenue reduced "as previously guided, primarily due to the planned rescaling of UK construction". Philip Rogerson, Carillion Chairman, commented: "Carillion has continued to deliver a robust performance, with underlying earnings per share slightly ahead of the market consensus forecast. "Having rescaled our UK construction activities, we have also further improved the risk profile and the overall quality of our business. "Looking forward, we expect market conditions to remain challenging in 2013. However, with a resilient business model, a strong order book and a substantial pipeline of contract opportunities, the group remains well positioned to achieve its targets of delivering annual growth in support services and of doubling annual revenues in the Middle East and in Canada, in each case to around £1.0bn, in the five-year period from 2010 to 2015." MF