Following its withdrawal from the United Arab Emirates in July 2013 and Russia in January 2014, Waterman has seen improvement in its accounts.
Excluding discontinued operations, group revenue was up 3% to £68.8m for the year ending 30th June 2014 (2013: £66.8m). UK revenue accounted for £59.8m of the total (2013: £50.2m) and there was a net increase of 196 employees recruited during the year to service the UK market.
Pre-tax profit from continuing operations was £800,000, up from £400,000 the previous year. Factoring in the cost of closing down in the UAE and Russia, there was a £3.2m loss for the year.
Order book increased by 14% to £120m driven by improving demand in the UK property sector.
Other staff moves see Craig Beresford and Neil Humphrey appointed as chief operating officers for the redesignated core business segments of property and infrastructure & environment respectively.
Waterman's UK revenue has now grown by more than 24% over the last two years and the board expects that “demand for our quality services will continue for the foreseeable future”.
Chief executive Nick Taylor said: "Waterman is continuing to deliver against our strategic target to achieve a tripling of adjusted profit before tax over the three year period up to June 2016 and a return of capital employed of 20%.
"The UK is our core market; this generates 87% of our revenue and is continuing to grow. Overseas, our operations in Australia and Ireland are experiencing an improving trading environment.
"Over the last 12 months our order book and prospects have grown in all sectors. We continue to attract and recruit high quality talent to service our existing and new clients and their projects. As design consultants we experience the upside early in the construction cycle."
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