Galliford Try Holdings PLC (LSE:GFRD) has set out a confident outlook for the year ahead, saying trading has started “slightly ahead of expectations” and that visibility on future work is unusually high after a fifth straight year of growth.
The construction group said 92% of projected revenue for the year to June 2026 is already secured and 75% of 2027 is booked, thanks to a £4.1 billion order book across public and regulated markets such as water, roads, defence, education and affordable housing.
An order book is the value of work contracted but not yet completed, giving companies line of sight on future income.
Bill Hocking, chief executive, said: “Galliford Try has continued its progress, achieving a fifth consecutive year of strong financial and operational performance, with an increase in revenue, profit, margin and cash.”
Results for the year to 30 June 2025 showed revenue up 6.3% to £1.88 billion, helped by a robust Highways performance and the run-off of the water sector’s current spending round.
Adjusted profit before tax, a measure that strips out one-off items to show underlying performance, rose 28.6% to £45 million.
Statutory profit before tax climbed to £44.1 million. The combined divisional margin improved to 3.0%, hitting the company’s 2026 target a year early.
The dividend is rising 22.6% to 19.0p for the year, covered 1.8 times by adjusted earnings per share of 34.4p.
The balance sheet remains debt-free with £237.6 million of cash at year-end and average month-end cash of £178.7 million.
A fresh £10 million share buyback has been announced, following the completion of a previous £10 million programme in May.
Management expects a temporary flattening in revenue this year as the industry transitions from “AMP7” to “AMP8”, the water sector’s five-year regulatory funding cycles that shape investment programmes for utilities.
Even so, the group says trading momentum has continued into the new year and it is targeting further margin gains on the way to a 4.0% divisional margin by 2030.
CEO Bill Hocking said the company’s “robust risk management, balance sheet strength” and sector focus leave it well placed to benefit from “the Government’s planned, and critically required, broad-based investment in the UK’s economic and social infrastructure.”