Connaught Looking to the Future Full of Confidence

Support services firm Connaught reported a 60 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profit, boosted by organic growth and acquisitions, and said it was positioned to capitalise on favourable markets.

Connaught, which provides property services to owners and occupiers of buildings throughout the UK, posted pretax profit before amortisation of Pounds 13m for the six months to end- February, slightly ahead of market forecasts.

Shares in Connaught have outperformed their sector by 48 per cent over the last 12 months and currently value the group at around Pounds 471m.

Connaught said its order book stood at Pounds 2.5bn, with total order intake for the financial year to date at Pounds 665m.

“As a consequence of the impressive 2008 order intake to date … buoyant bid pipeline … as well as the continued margin momentum, we are confidently increasing our full year 2009 and full year 2010 estimates by 4 per cent,” said analysts at KBC Peel Hunt, maintaining their ‘buy’ recommendation.

Overall turnover increased by 55 per cent.

The group’s social housing unit, which brings in around 80 per cent of revenues and which refurbishes, maintains and provides estate management services for local government-owned housing, achieved a 45 percent increase in revenue to Pounds 205.6m.

But greater momentum came from Connaught’s compliance unit, which achieved a 110 per cent increase in reven-ue.

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