North-east construction company Chap Group said an improved trading performance and restructuring during 2013/14 meant it was well-positioned to enjoy further strong growth.
The Westhill firm made pre-tax profits of more than £1.3million on turnover of £37.43million during the accounting period.
It gave no figures for the previous trading period but accounts lodged at Companies House for the 18 months to September 30, 2013, show Chap (Holdings) suffered pre-tax losses of nearly £2.4million on group turnover of £60.6million, including £51.2million from continuing operations.
Operating profits for 2013/14 came in at£1.53million, which Chap said was a “significant” increase on the previous year.
Chap – founded in 1976 – employs more than 200 people across divisions in the construction, commercial property, housebuilding, civil engineering and quarrying sectors.
Earlier this month, it announced a new £20million banking facility with Santander to support its focus on securing development opportunities and land acquisitions for residential and commercial projects core to its business plan.
Announcing annual results yesterday, a spokesman for the firm said financial progress was driven by growing demand “across all areas of the group as well as a streamlined business model”.
He added: “A positive cashflow of £4.7million in the same period has enhanced the group’s capability to embrace development opportunities.”
Douglas Thomson, who shares the managing director’s role at Chap with Hugh Craigie, said: “We operate in a very competitive commercial environment and these results are testament to the efforts of the whole team.
“Profitability has increased generally, with quarrying activities showing a particular upturn due to the level of construction taking place in the north-east throughout the 2013-14 period.
“With the announcement of the agreement with Santander, we signalled our intent to expand our development programme. We are confident that this will allow us to build on these positive results.”
Mr Thomson added: “During the 2013-14 financial year we made significant improvements to the business by introducing a new group structure, with four separate trading divisions combined under the Chap Group umbrella.
“This simplified structure has increased efficiency of the reporting and administrative process, in turn enhancing profitability. There has also been targeted investment in improving IT infrastructure and in commercial reporting systems, in line with those business objectives.
“Naturally we are keeping a close eye on the situation in the energy sector and the board is closely monitoring the potential impact of the current oil price, however, we remain confident in our own strategy and will continue to pursue opportunities across all divisions as we aim to move forward following a very encouraging year.”