May Gurney pre-tax profits climb 14%

May Gurney has posted a record pre-tax profit of £17.6m (£15.5m) and pushed margins up to 4% in its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2008.

The firm saw revenues climb 7.5% to £437m.

Meanwhile it announced the £3.4m acquisition of municipal waste recycling firm ECT Recycling, to boost its existing waste business.

The purchase comes on top of the £12.5m it paid for FDT Holdings, Willows Plant and EWC Southern Household Waste Recycling Business earlier in the year.

Commenting on the results chief executive David Sterry said: "We have reported record turnover and underlying profits for the ninth year in succession, with a strong cash flow and an order book which has been maintained at more than £1bn."

Sterry is set to stand down from his post at the company's coming AGM and will be replaced by the current chief operating officer Philip Fellowes-Prynne. Fellowes-Prynne was drafted into May Gurney in April this year from Accord where he was chief executive.