Infrastructure contractor Eurovia UK has increased both profit and turnover, according to its latest annual financial results.
The subsidiary of French construction giant Vinci posted a pre-tax profit of £37.5m for the 2022 calendar year, representing a 39.6 per cent increase on 2022 (£26.9m) and almost double its 2019 figure of £19.2m.
Turnover including joint ventures (JVs) also grew, reaching £912.1m last year, up 8.7 per cent since 2021 and almost a third more since 2018. Excluding JVs, revenue grew by 9.7 per cent to £693.4m.
In a 15-page statement with the accounts, chief executive Scott Wardrop said the “resilient financial performance” was “very much testament to our people and teams”.
Growth was driven by its term services road infrastructure business that operated throughout the pandemic, he added. Eurovia’s Ringway brand, which delivers highway management services for local and national bodies, increased its turnover by 7.1 per cent to £394.6m last year.
North of the border, Bear Scotland – a road-management and design JV involving Eurovia, Jacobs and Breedon Northern – grew its revenue by 8 per cent to £225m, although pre-tax profit fell to £4.5m in 2022, down from £6.7m the prior year.
Another partnership, Ringway Jacobs, saw a minor fall in turnover to £264m and a drop in pre-tax profit to £7m but an overall rise in its pre-tax profit margin.
Merchant business unit Wight Building Materials (a JV with Aggregate Industries) suffered an 8.6 per cent slump in revenue to £8m and made only £200,000 pre-tax profit, with Eurovia stating that the pandemic disrupted market conditions.
Average employee numbers across Eurovia UK were down 3 per cent to 2,799 last year, while total staff wages were almost flat at £133.4m.
“We expect in the next 10 years to see major challenges due to climate change… along with an exponential growth in digitalisation,” said Wardrop.
“We firmly believe our industry must work collaboratively with all stakeholders and avoid any greenwashing risk by overpromising net zero. We would rather work together to overdeliver through sustained and relentless innovation and constructive challenge.”
