Clancy Docwra unveils £4.5m pre-tax profit

Clancy Docwra’s latest result show that pre-tax profit has bubbled back, rising to a figure of £4.5m which represents a margin of close on 2%.

“That’s about the norm for the sector,” said Colin Waugh, business development director. “We’d love to be making 3%, indeed we’ve always said that that’s where we should be.”

Turnover in the 12 months to 31 March 2008 was £230m, a rise on the previous year’s figure of £210m.

Last year, Clancy’s pre-tax profit figure of just £440,000 was the result of a knock back which it described as its ongoing dispute with Tube Lines on a station refurbishment and enhancement contract that was completed by the group’s rail division.

That issue has now been sorted out.

“The last 12 months could best be described as satisfactory,” says said Waugh, “though there is definitely a downturn in the current market – it has spread from housebuilders and now takes in all angles of development work and also affects the utilities.

“There is no doubt we are seeing a slowdown, though less so in social housing. We are still busy but it is slower than last year.”

Clancy has put £1m into its group pension scheme “to reduce any potential future shortfall”.

Clancy’s former regional base in Darlington has been moved to Sunderland while Scottish staff who were previously based in Alloa are now housed in Livingston.

There has been redevelopment of Clancy’s existing southern and rail offices, based in Dartford and Ealing respectively.

The Dartford site is owned by Clancy and a new office there is currently 50% complete, while the group’s Ealing building sits on land owned by Network Rail. Development plans there are now in progress.

With work in utilities being “tight”, Waugh explained that Clancy has been pushing hard for a stronger position in the rail and energy sectors. “That’s where our focus has been,” he said, “and we’ve been bidding more work there. We see rail as the growth area in the next few years.”

Highlights from Clancy’s report on its operating structure included the following:

Water

• A significant increase in the planned volumes of work on the Thames Water Victorian Mains Replacement project in the City and in North East London.
• In Scotland, the division has won new commercial metering and connections contracts for Scottish Water.

Energy/Multi-energy

• The orderbook in Scotland has risen to more than £20m and in the Midlands a presence has been built with industrial and commercial clients who want a full D&B capability.

Rail

• Expansion has included a build-up of activity on the framework contract for planned maintenance works for Metronet on the London Underground, while in Scotland and the north of England, First Engineering has offered Clancy a range of schemes.