McGee profit halves as project start delays hit

Aaron Morby 2 days ago
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Specialist engineering contractor McGee saw pre-tax profits more than halve to £5.3m last year as project start delays linked to planning setbacks dented efficiency and margins.

Turnover jumped 24% to £151m for the year to 30 November 2024, driven by repeat business and single-source procurement from clients increasingly adopting McGee’s value-led delivery model.

But the employee-owned group’s operating margin plunged to 6.3% from 13.1% as delayed project starts inflated carry costs for plant, haulage and support services.

The board described the outcome as “sub-optimal” despite comparing favourably with sector peers.

Seb Fossey, Group Managing Director, said that the focus would now be on consolidating operations at the current scale while targeting value-led profit growth.

He said that McGee continued to invest heavily in self-delivery capacity, expanding its piling and excavator fleets and growing its stock of bespoke shoring and façade retention systems.

Cash at year end rose to £16m slightly ahead of the prior year.

In the year, McGee distributed £885,355 (2023: £619,343) via the employee ownership bonus scheme to around 350 staff, amounting to an average payout of around £2,500.

A £7.5m dividend was paid to the parent company during the year.

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