NMCN grew pre-tax profit by 24% to £7.44m for the year ending 31st December 2019 on revenue up 19% to £404.7m (2018: £340.5m).
Cash balance dwindled during the year, from £33.3m to £25.8m, but remains positive.
The 2019 results benefited from 15% revenue growth in the company’s water segment, to £282.6m, although operating profit here dipped from £8.1m in 2018 to £7.6m in 2019. The reduced operating margin was attributed to the conclusion of the AMP cycle and close out of the remaining schemes.
NMCN’s two water business units are now being amalgamated under one senior leadership team.
Following the introduction of a new operating structure and a change in leadership, the telecoms business unit had an increase in operating profit to £1.43m in 2019.
Like all companies, NMCN has been adjusting to Covid-19 challenges. While most of its building sites have been closed temporarily, 70% of its workload is continuing.
Directors and senior managers have taken a temporary pay cut (of 20% and 10% respectively) and some staff have been furloughed. All non-essential capital and overhead expenditure has been deferred while measures have been taken to reduce cash outflows, including the deferral of VAT payments and financing costs.
Chief executive John Homer said: “The 2019 results reflected a strong underlying performance with good progress towards achieving the targets of our strategic plan and building a solid platform for further growth. The strength of our ongoing operations allowed us to continue to exercise rigour in the work that we chose to take on, whilst our talented people remained the overarching differentiator in delivering our strategy.
“After a year of much activity, including our first acquisition for many years [Lintott Control Systems] and prudent balance sheet management, it’s allowed us to close the year with net cash of over £25m.
“In the near-term we need collectively to focus on confronting the implications of Covid-19 and the commitment of our highly skilled and dedicated workforce will once again be a major factor in achieving this. We are confident of NMCN’s ability to navigate these unprecedented circumstances and to emerge as a strong contender in our chosen markets.”
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