Laing O'Rourke 76% Profits Jump

The good news continues as Laing O’Rourke , Britains biggest privately owned builder, has reported a 76% increase in profit .The contractor has grown turnover by 21.5% to £4.24billionn in the year to 31 March 2008. This included a 23.8% leap in turnover in the Middle East to £0.42billion, and a 115% increase in Australasia to £0.58billion.

The company also reported a record order book of £10bn and said it had a strong cash position at £477m, with committed but unused banking facilities of £170m.

Tony Douglas, chief operating officer, said that the company was continuing with its strategy of 20% growth year on year, with much of this likely to come from the Middle East market where the firm’s schemes currently include work on the $20billion Al Raha Beach project in Abu Dhabi.
He said: “With mega projects of that scale, we will see continued growth in the area. The quality of the projects also allows us to direct some of our best talent to the region.”

Ray O’Rourke, chairman and chief executive, said: “Our hub-based business model, coupled with the skills of our directly employed workforce, has ensured flexibility to respond to changing macroeconomic circumstances in each of our operational units. This approach has exposed the group to the considerable growth stories in each hub while de-risking the group from the vagaries of any one market.”