Workloads up at John F Hunt but inflation costs eat into profit

John F Hunt said turnover was up last year while profit at its biggest business edged up despite being hit by inflation costs.

The demolition and civils specialist said revenue in the year to March 2024 was up 14% to £179m – but overall pre-tax profit was down a quarter to £4.4m which meant margins fell from 6% to 4.4%.

Income at its biggest business, John F Hunt Ltd, which specialises in demolition and civils work across London, was up by 56% to £89m with pre-tax profit at this business up 2% to £1.6m.

But in a note accompanying the accounts, the firm, which is carrying out work on the Tenter House scheme opposite Moorgate tube station, said “inflationary pressures and general contracting risk” meant that profit at the division would have gone up by more. “This has had an overall £2.5m effect on the reported profit in the year,” it added.

It said tender levels remained strong with the firm having secured a “significant” amount of workload in its current financial year.

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Turnover from its regeneration business was flat at £78m although operating profit was down 15% to £5m.

The firm confirmed that during the year it paid the Competition and Markets Authority its fine of £5.6m for its involvement in the bid-rigging scandal in the demolition sector.

In the accounts, which were signed off just after Christmas, the firm said it had net cash of £31m, down from £33m last time.

Meanwhile, its generator hire business, which files its accounts as John F Hunt Power, saw turnover tick up 2% to £48m in the year to March 2024. But pre-tax profit was down 42% to £3.5m.

Last October, John F Hunt Group was sold to its staff under an Employee Ownership Trust.

The firm was founded in 1982 with a £5,000 bank loan by John Hall.

The deal involves 10 companies within the group, including John F Hunt Ltd, as well as John F Hunt Regeneration along with several plant hire companies.

The firm’s power business and generator distributor Morris Machinery are not included in the EOT, the firm said.