The CEO of North East construction company Metnor Group has hailed the firm’s resilience after posting a 19% boost in turnover despite a number of challenges.
The Killingworth business, which operates three divisions, has published accounts showing a significant bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic and a return to profit. Turnover for the year ended December 31 2021 reached £81m, with gross profit margins improving from 5.0% to 9.9%.
Last year’s operating loss of £3.3m was also converted to profit of £1.25m, while the pre-tax loss of £3.29m was turned into profit of £1.28m, predominantly on the back of new contracts. During the year the average number of employees reduced from 188 to 169.
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The group’s trading divisions operate in the construction, mechanical and electrical services and pressure testing sectors, and CEO Chris Cant says the individual expertise combined with the group’s resources enables it to deliver first class products and services to their customers and clients.
The group said its focus on cash management continued throughout the year and that the 2021 consolidated cash balance was £4.2m. Metnor Construction turned over £63m, up from £48m, partly driven by the completion of projects delayed by the pandemic as well as new contracts.
The division focuses on PRS (private residential sector), care homes, hotels and leisure, data centres and retail sectors, with projects during the year including three leisure centres in London, Leicestershire and North Norfolk, data halls in Welwyn Garden City and Wembley, a PRS scheme in Rugby and two hotels in the North East.
Further projects started in late 2021 and 2022 include a PRS scheme in Warrington, a private medical facility in Northamptonshire and a £17m project with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Meanwhile, Norstead, the mechanical and electrical contracting business, increased turnover from £17m to £20m.
Chris Cant, CEO of the Metnor Group said: “Despite a challenging couple of years, we’re really proud of our growth and the calibre and scale of our new client wins. Covid was no doubt a difficult time for all businesses, but by remaining agile, staying true to our values and investing in our team, I’m proud to say we have come out stronger, with both turnover and profitability up on previous years.
“Continuing supply chain issues and soaring prices of course remain at large, but due to our robust tendering procedures we’ve been able to deliver projects on time and on budget.
“During that time, we’ve made significant changes to the business, defining and driving our core values and bringing in new operational and commercial professionals to add to our existing team. Our growth also comes on the back of celebrating Metnor Construction’s 20th anniversary, a new office in Maidenhead for Norstead Group and some of our largest single contract wins to date.
“With a strong order book for the rest of 2022 and beyond, we’re optimistic about the year ahead, forecasting record turnover next year and again the year after. I’d like to say a special thank you to our fantastic team, supportive clients and suppliers, who continue to play a key part in our journey.”
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