Tolent raises pre-tax profit to £5.3m

Tolent, the building, construction and property development company, has announced a 23.4% rise in pre-tax profit to £5.3m (£4.3m) for the year ending 31 December 2006.

Turnover increased by 23.1% from £141m in 2005 to £174m in 2006. Total operating profit increased by 18.9% to £4.6m (£3.9m in 2005). However, operating margins decreased marginally from 2.7% in 2005 to 2.6% in 2006.

Non-executive chairman Mike Speakman, who has taken over the role following the death of chairman Stuart Gordon on 4 March 2007, said that construction profits were in line with projections, but property development profits from the Temple Point Office Park near Leeds again failed to materialise due to the continued low demand for office accommodation.

Tolent operates from five regional offices on a national basis and reports improving markets in the Leeds and Manchester areas and in the North East. At the start of 2007 it had a forward order book of £111m.