North East construction group Northern Bear says it has beaten the downturn in the construction sector to post rising revenues and profits.
The Newcastle based company posted revenues of £69.7m in the year ended March 31 2023, a 14.1% rise on the previous year, while the previous year’s operating profit of £700,000 bounced back to a profit of £2.2m. Adjusted Ebitda increased 13.9% to £4.1m and adjusted basic earnings per share increased 19.4% to 11.7p. Cash generated from operations increased 28.9% to £2.8m and its net cash position at the year end was £3.2m, a rise of £1n.
Directors said the group generated strong operating results and has not experienced any slowdown in business to date, “despite widely publicised concerns about rising interest rates and their potential effects on the Ƶ economy”. Looking ahead, the firm said that early indications are that its 2024 financial year is progressing in a similarly strong manner, but that the timing of group turnover and profitability continues to be difficult to predict, despite its continued strong order book.
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It said inflationary pressures on construction materials prices have eased, which should give it improved visibility on near-term profitability, and that its forward order book remains strong and should support its trading performance in the coming months.
The group is pursuing a dividend growth strategy, supported by the organic progress of its businesses and acquisitions. As a result, intends to declare an ordinary dividend of 4p per share plus a special dividend for FY23 of 1p per share.
Meanwhile, John Davies, who spent time as as managing director of Meldrum Group and chief operating officer of Esh Group, was recently appointed as the new managing director for its subsidiary Arcas Building Solutions Limited.
Jeff Baryshnik, non-executive chairman of Northern Bear, said: “We are delighted to announce one of the strongest full year adjusted operating profits reported in the history of Northern Bear and are excited to implement our dividend growth strategy. We look forward to providing further updates to our shareholders and the wider investment community during the second half of 2023.”
