Contractor Galliford Try Holdings PLC (LON:GFRD) ended 2019 with cash of £225mln following the sale of its housebuilding and land divisions.
Galliford Try emphasised it was ‘well-capitalised’ going into the second half of its financial year with average month cash balances forecast to be £100mln
Orders are £3.2bn following contract wins including appointments to the YORCivil four-year major framework for Sheffield Council, AMP7 for Yorkshire Water, AMP7 for Southern Water, the A47 and A303 improvement works for Highways England and, in the private sector, the prestigious Project Nash development in central London for the Portman Estate
Trading is in line with expectations but will be weighted to the second half of the financial year due to both market uncertainty and the settlement of certain claims in the first half of the year.
Bill Hocking, chief executive, said: “The successful completion of the disposal of the housing and partnerships divisions means Galliford Try is now a well-capitalised and focused UK construction group.”
Peel Hunt expects a loss this year as the dust settles from the disposals but sees profits £9.6mln the following year as margins improve.
The broker’s price target is 190p, with the shares up 9% today to 156.7p.