Severfield sees record order book as it sets to work on new football stadium

The Thirsk-based group said revenue rose 5 per cent to £196m in the six months to September 30 and underlying pre-tax profits jumped 23 per cent to £10.3m.

The firm said that tendering and pipeline activity isvery encouraging in both the UK and Continental Europe, including opportunities in the industrial and distribution, transport infrastructure, nuclear and data centre sectors.

At the beginning of November, Severfield had a record UK and Europe order book of £393m, including new industrial, distribution and bridge orders as well as the new stadium for Everton FC.

The group said that expectations are unchanged despite ongoing supply chain and inflationary pressures for both Severfield and its clients and the record UK and Europe order book gives the firm good profit visibility through 2023.

Alan Dunsmore, Severfield's chief executive, said: "The operational and strategic progress we have made over recent years has underpinned our first half performance.

"Tendering activity in the UK and Europe remains very encouraging and our pipeline of opportunities spans a wide range of sectors demonstrating the benefits of both the strategic acquisitions and the organic investments we have made in recent years."

He said the firm is making strong progress in its Indian business and it is well placed to capitalise on this "exciting" market opportunity as the Indian economy recovers from the pandemic and construction transitions from concrete to steel.

He added: "Our people and communities remain a priority as we further our ‘Smarter, Safer, more Sustainable’ programme, as well as advancing our sustainability agenda, playing our part in the shift to a decarbonised economy.

"While the inflationary outlook and labour market and supply chain pressures present challenges, our strong order book position and operational experience give us confidence for the rest of this year and provide good visibility through 2023."

Severfield has raised its interim dividend by 9 per cent to 1.2p per share.

The firm has been certified by the Carbon Trust as carbon neutral for manufacturing and construction operations and it has a Net Zero carbon target established for 2040. It has also signed up to the UN ‘Race to Zero’ campaign.