Fit-out work leading the way as Morgan Sindall remains on track for record year

Morgan Sindall is still on track for a record year thanks to ongoing strength in the fit-out, construction and infrastructure markets, the firm said this morning.

In a trading update, the firm said that since publishing record interim results in August “general market conditions have remained challenging yet manageable”.

Chief executive John Morgan said: “Against this backdrop, our high-quality secured order book and our operational delivery capabilities give us great confidence for the rest of the year and we’re on track to deliver a full year performance which is in line with our expectations.”

Analysts have previously said they are expecting the firm to post revenue of £3.67bn this year with the consensus for pre-tax profit coming in at around £134m. Pre-tax profit last year was down to £85m after the firm was hit by a building safety exceptional charge.

In this morning’s update, Morgan Sindall said both construction and infrastructure had performed better than expected, while the fit-out division had continued to trade strongly.

It added that the fit-out order book for the rest of the year meant the division was on track to turn in a result slightly above the top end of its medium-term target of an annual operating profit within the range of £50m-£70m.

The firm’s partnership housing operation, Lovell, was progressing as planned, it said, with the only blot in this morning’s update the performance of its property services arm where it said conditions have remained difficult.

Morgan Sindall is rejigging this part of the business but admitted “this has been slower than expected and the loss in the year is now anticipated to be higher than previously expected”.

The group’s order book at the end of September was up 7% on its 2022 year-end number to £9.1bn.

The firm is set to release its 2023 results next February.