Shares in construction group Galliford Try surged nearly eight per cent in early trading following the company's announcement of a significant revenue increase.
The firm reported a 12.7 per cent rise in revenue to £923.2m for the six months ending December 31, while its profit before tax climbed by 22 per cent to £20.5m, as reported by .
Galliford Try also expressed "increased confidence" and anticipates that both revenue and adjusted profit before tax for the full financial year will surpass the top end of current market expectations.
The º£½ÇÊÓƵ-focused infrastructure design, building, and refurbishment specialist is poised to gain from the government's commitment to construction across the country.
With an order book standing at £3.9bn, the company considers itself "well-placed" to support the government's growth initiatives.
Galliford has secured contracts with Southern Water, Wessex Water, and Yorkshire Water, amounting to £1bn.
Bill Hocking, Chief Executive of Galliford Try, commented on the company's robust first-half performance: "The group's excellent performance in the first half of the financial year provides increased confidence and improved revenue, margin and profit expectations for the full year."
He added, "In addition to our continued successes in building and environment we see a pipeline of opportunities across all our chosen sectors. Our track record of operational delivery, focused risk management, committed people and established relationships with our supply chain and clients provides consistency to our results.
"Our recent major long-term framework wins and order book provide clear visibility and security of future workloads well beyond the current financial year and we welcome the Government's commitment to grow the economy by major investment in infrastructure and development."
Panmure Liberum analysts have given Galliford Try a 'Buy' rating with an increased target price of 480p, up from 430p. The analysts have upgraded the stock following this morning's profit upgrades and expressed particular enthusiasm for opportunities in the water market.
Cavendish analyst Max Hayes described the results as "strong", setting a target price of 527p and raising his forecast. "Performance shows encouraging early progress against its 2030 growth targets," said Hayes, noting that the company has "momentum".
Galliford Try has also increased its interim dividend by 37.5 per cent year on year to 5.5p.
