Morgan Sindall sees full-year results 'slightly above' expectations

Construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall said on Wednesday that full-year results were set to be "slightly above" its expectations amid continued strong trading.

The company said that since its half-year results in early August, trading has remained strong and inflation in the supply chain and the availability of materials and labour have been manageable.

Chief executive John Morgan said: "Trading remains strong across the group and our high-quality and growing workload leaves us well set for the future.

"Inflation in the supply chain remains manageable and based upon our current performance and the visibility we have for the rest of the year, we expect to deliver a full year performance which is slightly above our previous expectations."

Trading in Construction & Infrastructure has remained strong, Morgan Sindall said. Construction activities are expected to deliver a full-year operating margin of around 3%, while the operating margin in the infrastructure segment should be "well in excess" of 3.5%.

"Both activities are benefiting from the continued focus on long-term client relationships, operational delivery and risk management," it said.

Meanwhile, the Fit Out business has had a record period of winning work and converting projects from preferred bidder stage into contract. At the end of September, the order book was £944m, up 62% from the half year and 130% higher compared to the year end.

Morgan Sindall said it’s still seeing slightly lower-than-expected planned maintenance activity in Property Services, while Partnership Housing has continued to see high levels of unit sales and completions.

In the Urban Regeneration segment, active development schemes have progressed as planned, although viability challenges exist on some projects not yet started.