Mott Macdonald is working on digital solutions for clients as part of its future strategy (Image: Mott Macdonald)
Mott Macdonald Group has seen its revenue for the 2018 financial year increase by 5% to £1.6bn, as it managed to find growth in a “mixed market”.
Pre-tax profit for the year to 31 December 2018 increased to £38.7m, up from £37.4m the year before.
The consultant said that uncertainty around Brexit in the UK, which is the company’s biggest market, was offset by a recovery in the global mining and metals sectors and a stabilisation in oil prices.
Despite the “mixed market” conditions, the UK, North America, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand all provided opportunities for growth and Mott Macdonald said that pattern was continuing in 2019.
The UK and Europe represents 53% of the group’s gross revenue and the business in this region grew by 11% in 2018 in terms of revenue compared to the year before. Profit rose slightly during the same period. Mott Macdonald described the profit performance as “satisfactory” in most areas, while it was "good" for its water contractor Bentley.
Infrastructure ‘engine’
Within the UK, the company said that the business benefited from the government’s pursuit of infrastructure projects as an engine for economic growth, while the regulated asset-based industries, such as water, also provided opportunities as clients drove delivery of their investment programmes.
Profits in the USA were down by 30%, driven by a “significant contraction” in the energy market, although the company reported good growth in revenue and profit in its infrastructure business on the east and west coasts.
In the Middle East and south Asia, which represents 9% of the group’s gross revenue, the business contracted by 12% as it focused on margin improvement rather than volume. Profits rose by 8% as a result, with both the infrastructure and energy businesses in India and the Middle East benefiting from the strategy.
Looking ahead, Mott Macdonald’s managing director Mike Haigh warned that confidence in infrastructure investment is being impacted by global political and economic uncertainty, including Brexit, while the infrastructure sector continues to be disrupted by technology advances. But Haigh added: “Change brings threat but it also brings opportunity. The focus on our core sectors and our leadership in driving change in the industry in areas like BIM, digital, smart infrastructure, climate resilience, cities and sustainability give us confidence that out strategy of selective focused growth is the right one.”
