Nuttall confident as profit rises to £20m

Edmund Nuttall made a pre-tax profit margin of 4.1% last year, marking a small decline from the 4.3% figure achieved in 2003. Nevertheless, the 2004 figure is still something for Nuttall to boast about.
Pre-tax profit was up from £19.9m to £20.3m as turnover increased from £455.1m in 2003 to £491.8m last year.
Chief executive Peter Brooks said: "These results confirm Nuttall's position as one of the UK's top-performing civil engineering contractors."
During the year, Nuttall won Cheshire County Council's highways maintenance framework and similar deals with South West Water for AMP4. It also secured two early contractor involvement contracts with the Highways Agency: the A421 Great Barford improvement in Bedfordshire and the A47 Blofield dualling in Norfolk.
The forward order book stood at £655m at 1 January.
Nuttall is owned by Dutch giant Royal BAM, which also owns HBG Construction. Brooks is also chief executive of HBG.
In Nuttall's accounts, Brooks said: "A closer working relationship with HBG and an exploitation of joint synergies will also enhance business opportunities in the future."
Under the SSAP24 accounting standard, Nuttall's pension deficit was £30.4m at 1 April 2004. The pension charge last year was £5.8m.
Assessed to the new FRS17 standard, the deficit at 31 December 2004 was £30.1m, up from £23m at 31 December 2003.
The firm's accident frequency rate has improved, falling from 0.62 in 2003 to 0.58 in 2004. Brooks attributed this success to the 'Don't Walk By' campaign. "The campaign is now visible on all Nuttall sites and will continue for the foreseeable future," he said.
Nuttall's charitable contributions increased from £37,294 to £49,598.
HBG's results for 2004 are still being finalised.