Morgan Sindall on track despite mounting headwinds

Updating investors ahead of its annual general meeting, the construction and regeneration specialist said inflationary pressures and supply issues remained "significant" challenges, with an already difficult trading environment further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

Despite that, trading in the year-to-date was in line with expectations, and the group reiterated its outlook for the full year.

"Current market conditions are expected to continue for the foreseeable future," the FTSE 250 firm noted. "However, on the basis of the performance-to-date, and the current visibility of future workload for delivery in the remainder of the year, the group is confident of delivering a full-year performance which is in line with previous expectations."

The total secured workload as at 31 March was £8.6bn, up 6% year-on-year and level with the 2021 end-of-year position.

Within that, the construction secured order book was £4.5bn, up 14%, while the regeneration order book was £4.1bn, down 1% or unchanged since the year end.

As at 0930 BST, shares in Morgan Sindall were ahead 1% at 2,110.0p.

John Morgan, chief executive, said: "Despite the current market headwinds, we’re well positioned for the future with continued positive momentum across the group."