Galliford Try profit beats guidance

The company swung to a pretax profit of £11.4m in the year to the end of June from a £59.7m loss a year earlier. Revenue increased to £1.13bn from £1.09bn.

Profit was ahead of the company's previous guidance for near the top of a £9m-£11.2m range. The group announced a final dividend of 3.5p a share taking the annual payout to 4.7p. There was no dividend in the prior year after the company scrapped the payment early in the crisis.

Results were boosted by Galliford Try's building division, which posted a £2m operating profit compared with a £7.2m loss a year earlier. The infrastructure arm swung to a £6m profit from a £1.8m loss.

Galliford Try said it had a £3.3bn order book, up from £3.2bn a year earlier.

Chief Executive Bill Hocking said: "The group has an excellent order book and balance sheet. We are strongly positioned to meet the increasing demand for social and economic infrastructure in the UK and deliver growth. The outlook is positive for the sector and the management team and Board look forward to the new financial year with confidence."

Galliford Try shares rose 2.3% to 175.6p at 10:15 BST, taking its 2021 gains to 50%.