Haymills returns to profit

Julian Brandon's first year at the helm of southern England contractor Haymills has transformed the group's financial fortunes from a loss of more than £6m to a profit in the first half of the current financial period.
Announcing Haymills' latest interim results (six months to 30 September), chief executive Brandon forecast that the group would run to a pre-tax profit of £1.2m on a turnover of £95m in the full year.
Latest interim results show a pre-tax profit of £330,000 on a turnover of £45m.
There was no finance director when Brandon arrived last September from Sindall, part of the Morgan Sindall group. "Haymills was very behind on such aspects as financial reconciliations, budgeting and forecasting."
Brandon has also introduced the concept of empowerment to all senior regional management teams. "The reality is that regional managers must now earn their bottom line," he said.
To build stronger ties, Brandon operates a monthly reporting system with the five regions that involves a face-to-face sit-down. "It took three to six months for people to trust me reasonably well," he said. "The company had good middle management but was lacking in strategic direction at the top."
Changes are in the air at corporate level and the most likely prospect is a management buyout. A public flotation is now seen as a non-starter and Brandon has no interest in being gobbled up by a bigger construction player. "A management buy-out is one of the options," he said.