CJ O’Shea Group has reported an increased margin, as income from its development work outweighed a steep decline in construction profit.
Newly released accounts for the north London-headquartered contractor, developer and plant-hire company show revenue fell to £133.5m in the 12 months to 31 March 2023, from £167m the year before.
Pre-tax profit at the group was down slightly to £24m from £24.9m in 2022, giving it a pre-tax margin of 18 per cent, up from the 14.9 per cent achieved previously.
However pre-tax profit at its construction arm – CJ O’Shea and Company – dropped from £19.7m to just £3m in the period.
At group level this was mostly offset by its share of operating profit from development joint ventures quadrupling from £4m to £16.7m.
In a statement within the group accounts, O’Shea executive chairman Rory O’Connor described the performance as “another successful year”.
“The directors consider the results to be satisfactory against an environment of increased competition, rising labour and material costs, the increase in interest rates and uncertain political situation in the UK and worldwide,” he said.
The period was hit by price inflation following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and market turmoil following the September 2022 mini-budget.
Revenue from construction contracts stood at £124m in the period, down from £158.9m in 2022. Plant-hire accounted for £9.3m of turnover, up from £7.9m in the prior year.
Looking ahead, O’Connor said that inflation, high interest rates, material costs and labour shortages were “likely to impact the performance of the business in the current year” but that the group’s “resilience and its strong balance sheet” would help it maintain its market position.
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : ConstructionNews – https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/financial/oshea-boosts-margin-despite-drop-in-construction-profit-02-01-2024/
