Galliford Try problems at an end?

The financial problems in Galliford Try's construction division look to be coming to an end. The group's latest interim results, published this morning (Thursday), show an operating profit of £2m on its construction turnover of £270m.

In the same period last year, construction racked up an operating loss of £3.4m.

That performance led to the departure of George Marsh and the arrival of Andy Sturgess as Galliford's new managing director of construction. Sturgess took the axe to senior management - 20 senior posts were eliminated and a flatter structure was introduced.

The group's overall turnover (six months to 31 December 2003) was 19% higher at £350m. Pre-tax profit was much healthier at £9.6m after a figure of £3.5m in the same period last year.

Despite the upturn in construction, Galliford's overall profits still rely heavily on the performance of the housebuilding division - this time round it notched up an operating profit of £11m on turnover of £86m.