Michael Graham
Privately owned contractor Graham has set out a five-year plan to embrace modern methods of construction (MMC) and improve productivity, as the company posted a reduction in both pre-tax profit and turnover for 2018/2019.
Graham’s pre-tax profit fell to £8.2m in the year to 31 March 2019, down from £13.1m the year before. Meanwhile, turnover dipped to £735m, down from £767.6m the year before.
The business, which operates in the building, civil engineering, fit-out and facilities management, was profitable in all its divisions.
Coinciding with its accounts, it has also published a new business strategy called “Forward Momentum”. The five-year plan aims to deliver on the contractor’s ambitions to improve productivity and embrace MMC.
Chief executive Michael Graham said he wanted the group to continue with “sustainable, organic growth”, with an optimum business size of £850-£900m and margins in excess of 3%.
He added: “We also want to be known as a business defined by the quality of our projects rather than the size of our revenue. So far, we have been very successful in this regard as quality has differentiated us, and we believe it will continue to do so. To maintain this standard, we will continue to significantly invest in training, systems and processes to ensure we get it right first time on site whilst ensuring Graham is a safe, accident free place of work.”
Commenting on the financial results, he said: ““Graham continues to be in a strong financial position. First and foremost, these latest accounts indicate stability, particularly as we recorded profits across all of our divisions. This will provide us with a solid platform to continue to grow sustainably.
“We have also produced a healthy balance sheet, with strong cash balances of £63m and no trading debt. Our intent is to continue to invest in the balance sheet to ensure that we can be selective about the projects we work on and the partners we work with.
“Our focussed approach to work winning has accounted for our current order book of £1.2bn together with a strong presence in multiple frameworks, which will help maintain the Group’s healthy balance between public and private work.
“This leaves us well placed for 2020 with strong levels of secured work, and a forecast revenue of £875m.”
