Bancon Group achieves £4.6m operating profits despite market headwinds
The Aberdeenshire-based housebuilding and construction group Bancon Group has posted a robust year of trading, marked by a 33% increase in its homes business and a 16% rise in overall turnover, for the year ended March 2023.
Turnover for the year was up £18 million on the previous year to £132m. Despite cost inflation and the well-documented headwinds being experienced by the industry, Bancon Group delivered operating profits of £4.6m.
Pre-tax profits of £1.8m were slightly behind the £2.7m reported in the previous year as a result of writing down the value of a long-held development.
The record level of activity in the year for Bancon Homes delivered turnover of £68.4m compared to £51.3m in the previous financial year. This is attributed to the resilience of the markets in which Bancon Homes operates, the quality of the product, the attractiveness of the locations and a genuine focus on customer service which has led to a Gold Award for customer satisfaction from Inhouse Research for the sixth consecutive year.
Bancon Homes successfully brought forward future phases of its developments in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and started on two new developments in the Central Belt during the period.
Turnover at Bancon Construction was £35.5m, 18% ahead of the previous year and profits before tax were the highest reported since 2007. This has been achieved through structural changes and tight margin control. Bancon Construction has a strong order book with turnover in excess of £40m secured in the current financial year.
Meanwhile, despite an overall slowdown in the market in the second-half of the financial year, Deeside Timberframe maintained activity at a similar level to the previous year with turnover of £28.0m compared to £32.6m. A market-leader in the design, manufacture and installation of timber systems, the business is investing in facilities and production efficiencies to counter the sharp rise in the cost of raw materials and deliver a step-change in growth across Scotland and England.
The group reports a positive outlook for 2023-2024 and has renewed its banking facilities with Santander for a further three years to December 2026.
Chief executive Kevin McColgan, who joined the group in September this year, said: “These robust results, with a second consecutive year of increased homes sales, combined with the renewal of our banking facility, demonstrate the success of our current strategies and the confidence in our future prospects.
“Our strong financial position, positive sales performance in the current financial year and strong forward orders means we are exceptionally well-placed to invest in and deliver our growth ambitions even against the backdrop of the rising costs of raw materials and the wider economic uncertainties.”