Galliford Try lifts guidance again after strong first half

Galliford Try's share price received a boost on Wednesday after the British construction company lifted both its top and bottom-line guidance for the full year, for the second time in recent months.

The company said that trading over the first half has seen "strong momentum" with results ahead of the board's expectations since the time of its annual results released in September, during which it raised its guidance for the current year.

"With good visibility over the second half, revenue for the full financial year is now expected to be approximately 5% ahead of current market expectations, with an equivalent increase in expected profit before tax," the company said in a statement.

Current consensus estimates are for revenue of £1.44-1.49bn and pre-exceptional pre-tax profit of £25.2-28.1m, up from £1.39bn and £23.4m the year before, respectively.

The order book grew to £3.7bn by the end of 2023, up from £3.5bn the same time the previous year.

"Galliford Try continues to perform strongly and consistently, and our performance in the first half of the financial year provides increased confidence for the full year," said chief executive Bill Hocking.

The stock was up 3.5% at 249.5p by 1024 GMT.