Galliford Try Regulatory News (GFRD)

9 Jan 2007 07:00

Galliford Try PLC09 January 2007 GALLIFORD TRY PLC TRADING UPDATE Galliford Try plc, the construction and housebuilding group, is providing thefollowing update to trading for the half year to 31 December 2006. Key Highlights - Excellent first half trading with half year results expected to be strong and in line with the board's expectations. - Construction order book maintained at £2.3 billion. - Award of £79 million Whitelee wind farm project - Europe's biggest onshore windfarm. - Housebuilding achieved half year records: - Completions of 593 units (2005: 484 units) - Sales in hand for the full year of £197 million (2005: £158 million) - Land bank of 4,818 units (2005: 2,455) - Secured preferred development partner status for 553 homes on regeneration sites with English Partnerships. - Good construction cash flows - cash in hand at 31 December 2006. Outlook The Group is trading strongly. It has had an excellent first half and expects toreport strong half year results in line with the board's expectations. Theoperations acquired with Morrison Construction and Chartdale Homes last yearhave both been successfully integrated into the Group and are performing well.Our construction divisions continue to generate good cash flows. Based on the existing market fundamentals continuing, and our proven businessmodel, we are increasing our investment in housebuilding and are well placed toachieve our targets for the full year to 30 June 2007. The board is confident of its prospects for the full year. Operations The building division continues to secure quality opportunities in its chosenmarkets of education, commercial, health, interiors and leisure. We have astrong track record in a buoyant south east market and recent awards include twoprojects for Marks and Spencer totalling £34 million, a fifth contract forTravelodge, worth £11 million and a £7 million office development for MorleyFund Management in London. In the north west of England we have secured afurther £15 million of health centre and community hospital work under the LocalImprovement Finance Trust (LIFT) framework. Work is progressing well on our £192million, 41 school PFI project in Northamptonshire, and our £134 million, 11school PFI project for the Highlands Council in Scotland. Our Infrastructure division continues to benefit from its significant marketpresence in water, highways, rail, ground remediation, engineering and renewableenergy. We have commenced work on our substantial remediation contract atOlympic Park in east London, and are on site at our £79 million contract toconstruct Europe's largest wind farm at Whitelee, south of Glasgow. We aredeveloping our highways business with projects delivered through the HighwaysAgency's 'Early Contractor Involvement' schemes and are on site this month withthe £24 million Parton to Lillehall project. Affordable housing and regeneration projects, where we can bring both ourcontracting and housebuilding skills to a project represents an increasingsource of longer term work. We have been appointed preferred development partnerfor another English Partnerships scheme, with the English Cities Fund, atMillbay on the Plymouth waterfront for 123 homes and associated office spacewhich is due to commence in late spring 2007. We announced in December ourpreferred bidder status for English Partnerships' 430 homes Turner Villagescheme in Colchester with work expected to commence on site in late summer 2007,and earlier in 2006 secured a 390 homes scheme in Camborne. Our Investments division is working toward financial close on the £100 millionsouth east Essex LIFT and is progressing other private finance initiativeopportunities at earlier stages in both England and Scotland. Our housebuilding division has maintained good sales rates throughout the firsthalf of our financial year and completions were up 23% on last year at a record593 units on an average selling price of £221,000, compared to £203,000 a yearago. The division has currently reserved, contracted or completed sales with arecord value of £197 million, a 25% increase on last year, which secures asignificant proportion of our targeted sales for the year to 30 June 2007.Achieving our growth targets depends on increasing the number of sites in ourland bank. We have made a number of good quality site acquisitions across allour regions and at 31 December 2006 our land bank stood at a record 4,818 unitscompared to 2,455 last year and 4,022 on 30 June 2006. Interim Results The Company's interim results for the half year to 31 December 2006 are expectedto be announced on Thursday 22 February 2007. Further enquiries to: Greg Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Galliford Try plc 01895 855219Frank Nelson, Finance Director Galliford Try plc 01895 855226Ann marie Wilkinson/Geoff Callow Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial 020 7861 3232 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange