Construction consulting group Turner and Townsend has reported a rise in operating profit, despite challenges posed by the pandemic.
The Leeds-headquartered group, which operates 112 offices worldwide, said operating profit was more than £114m in the year to the end of April 2021, up from £87.6m in the previous 12 months.
In accounts published at Companies House, the firm said that a decline in revenue from £744.3m to £727.3m was caused by contractions in the aviation and oil and gas markets.
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Nevertheless, chief executive officer Vincent Clancy said strong performance across the firm's global markets was a result of investing in people, the community and its services.
Writing in a report accompanying the accounts, Mr Clancy said he believed Turner and Townsend would emerge "stronger, more efficient, and more effective" from the pandemic.
He said: "There was clearly a tough period as our clients recalibrated after the initial pandemic shock. However, we have seen a strong finish to the year with project wins such as the six-year project management office services contract on Sydney Metro, offsetting the sharp decline in the once burgeoning global aviation sector.
"The fall in demand for oil and raw materials led to a tough year for our natural resources business. That said, our Q4 performance has returned to growth as confidence accelerates and as global focus moves to meet challenging global net zero targets.
"It is increasingly clear that this shift towards investment in renewable and low-carbon energy sources is set to create an unprecedented opportunity."
In November 2021 US-headquartered CBRE acquired a majority stake in Turner and Townsend, in a deal worth £960m.
The move was designed to help CBRE realise ambitions in the public and private sector infrastructure and low carbon economy sectors.
These latest accounts - filed before the deal was completed - saw operating profits across Turner and Townsend's UK business grow from £35.5m in 2020 to £42.3m in 2021.
During the period, the firm helped to deliver a Covid-19 Lighthouse Laboratory in just 18 weeks at Baltic Park in Gateshead and was awarded work on a major data centre project in Mumbai.
In 2021 Turner and Townsend celebrated its 75th anniversary.
