Materials pay at Armstrong

Cumbria contractor Thomas Armstrong produced an 18.5% rise in pre-tax profit to 9m and a 15% boost in turnover to 92.3m in the year to 30 September 2002 thanks to its non-contracting business.

Armstrong's building mat-erials, mineral extraction and DIY retail businesses produced a pre-tax profit of 8.4m, up 24%, with turnover rising 16.4% to 47.3m.

The building and civil engineering business increased turn-over 10% to 43m, but pre-tax profit fell 10% from 1.2m to 1m.

West Cumbria Estates Management, the group's PFI business, produced a pre-tax profit of 102,409 from a turnover of 1.2m.