Record profit marks Pettifer turnaround

Pettifer Construction is on for a record performance this year after its trading in the year to 30 September 2005 was impacted by large contracts being delayed.

"We’ll produce a turnover of £55m in this current year [to 30 September] and at 1 October we’ll have £38m to £40m of secured work. We’ll probably do £70m next year," director Bob Macpherson told CJ.

But this healthy forecast comes after turnover took a hit in the 04-05 period. The directors’ report described delays on two projects as "significant".

Macpherson said: "We had two jobs, one was for two care homes and the other an apartment building; there were 10 months between tendering and start-on-site on one and a 14-month delay on the other.

"There appears to be a trend towards an increasing period of time between tender submission and start-on-site."

Clients seem to be taking their time on finalising their plans and funding, he said. Pettifer produced a turnover of £31.7m in the year to 30 September. Comparisons with the past are largely pointless as the previous accounts were for an 18-month period as the firm changed its year-end.

However, that comparison does reveal a significant boost in profitability: the 18 months to 30 September 2004 generated a pre-tax profit of just £191,000 and an operating margin of just 0.1% from £56.5m of turnover, while 04-05 showed a pre-tax profit of £753,000 and an operating margin of 2%.

This improvement is attributed to "significant developments in systems and processes". Macpherson also highlighted a "more robust supply chain" and a higher proportion of repeat work.

"We’ve got good staff too," he added.