Morris & Spottiswood lifts profit margin to 2.7%

Morris & Spottiswood, the fit-out specialist contractor, has notched up a pre-tax profit of £3.4m, up from the figure of £2.9m in the previous year.

Turnover was unchanged at £125m. The latest figures cover the 12 months to 31 December 2007.

The directors stated that the business continues to be funded solely by working capital generation and despite a cash outflow of £3m during the year, there was a healthy year-end position showing a sum of £7m and no borrowings.

The net cash at the end of the previous year was £10m.

This cash-plus situation comes on the back of capital investment of £5m over the past two years, this money being spent on new offices, plant and machinery, IT infrastructure and core systems.

Various dividends were paid out during the year, running to a total of £1.4m

The bill for wages and salaries ran to £21m. The number of employees was stable at 595 with 313 of this number being out on site, working on fit-out, housing or maintenance contracts.

The highest-paid director received £184,000 which included the £18,000 contribution to his pension scheme.

The ultimate controlling party of the group is George Morris by virtue of his majority shareholding.