The pre-tax profit was also up strongly to £1m following a group re-organisation, giving an operating margin of 2.6%, up from 1.5% in 2011. The company is targeting 4%.
In 2009 ERH adopted the strategy of focusing on regional frameworks in key sectors, including education, healthcare, care homes and highways.
Managing director Dave Jones said: “This improved financial performance is the result of the hard work and commitment by everyone within the ERH Group. It’s been a tough few years for the sector and like many, we’ve suffered a little pain, but we recognised that to follow the pack and pursue contracts and turnover, at the expense of profitability, would only lead to failure – a fact borne out by a succession of failing contractors.
“Our processes across all divisions, Construction, Building and Communications are lean and efficient. We’re now in a good position to exploit the experience and resources within the group, to win tenders and deliver projects. The changes we have made to our business have realised significant efficiency savings and put us in good shape to achieve our growth targets – matching the 65% growth seen in 2012 however, will be a challenge.”
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