The firm, which completed a £160m refinancing deal to clear its debt pile earlier this month, said it was optimistic about trading this year.
Group profits before exceptionals jumped from £2.4m in 2010 to £21m on turnover down 11% at £588m.
After exceptional items pre-tax losses were down from £93m to £30m.
Group chief executive Keith Miller said: “The significant capital investment and support from our new shareholders provides us with a solid platform for future growth.
“Our chosen markets are showing encouraging signs of recovery and, with a robust balance sheet, together with the steps we have taken to position each of our businesses, we can look to the future with some confidence.”
Miller divisions
Before exceptionals
Housing: profit £0.9m (-£16.8m); turnover £271 (£322m)
Construction: profit £7.4m (£9.9m); turnover £239m (£293m)
Property: profit £10.2m (£11.2m); turnover £47m (£30m)
Mining: profit £7.5m (£0.5m); turnover £32m (£18m)
Turnover and profits fell at the construction arm as the group avoided hard-bid contracts and was hit by delays in framework start-ups.
But Miller said he was confident this trend would reverse in 2012.
The housing division, which had dragged the private company down, scraped in with its first pre-exceptional profit for several years of £900,000 after a like-for-like loss of £17m last time.
Completions were down 15% at 1,632 units as sales outlet fell to 74 from 81 the year before.
Average selling prices were also down to £161,000 (2010: £168,000).
Miller said the housing division was encouraged by the Government’s mortgage indeminty scheme and was “poised for growth in 2012 with 25 new sites scheduled to be acquired”.
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