Mace lifts pre-tax profit £4m higher to £15m

Mace lifted its pre-tax profit to £15m last year with Stephen Pycroft, chief executive, describing 2008 as “another excellent year”.

Turnover in the 121 months to 31 December 2008 ran to £650m (figure in previous year: £550m).

The 2007 turnover generated a pre-tax profit of £11m.

Mace started 2009 with its orderbook 79% secured.

Pycroft reported: “It will be no surprise that, like all organisations right now, we are reining in non-essential spending and scrutinising our policies carefully; however we are responding to the recession with internal initiatives, driving efficiencies and innovation rather than just cost-cutting.

“We are pushing our emerging markets harder.”

Mace divides its operations into four business streams and their contributions to the group’s turnover were:

• £300m – construction delivery
• £52m – construction management  
• £200m – project management
• £52m – fm and consultancy

Mace is highly dependent on the UK market. Its geographic split of turnover is made up of:

• £540m – UK
• £41m – Middle East and Africa
• £16m – Europe
• £12m – Asia

 The UK generated over £13m of Mace’s profits with the £1.5m balance coming from the rest of the world.

Staff numbers were higher at 2,900 which was made up of project staff (2,500) and administration (400).

A dividend of £11m was passed on to the group’s parent company.

The directors pay and pension pot ran to £9.7m with the highest-paid individual collecting £670,000 which was down on the £730,000 he enjoyed in the previous year.

Also, payments of £7m were made in the year “to provide benefits” to 55 senior employees and directors. The exact allocation of this cash is still to be determined.