Bam Nuttall saw its pre-tax profit soar to £64.4m 2023, largely driven by the resolution of legacy projects.
Turnover of £1.21bn generated a pre-tax profit for the year ending 31 December 2023 that was 16 times higher than the previous year’s figure of £4m, its latest accounts show. This marked a 14 per cent rise in revenue on the previous year’s total of £1.07bn.
Bam Nuttall’s margin therefore broadened from 0.4 per cent in 2022 to 5.3 per cent, “largely due to resolution of legacy projects and increased interest receipts following the rise in interest rates in 2023”, according to the accounts.
“As anticipated, we returned to expected underlying levels of profitability in 2023,” Bam Nuttall executive director Huw Jones said in his foreword to the accounts filed with Companies House on 11 October.
He added: “We have continued a prudent growth strategy by securing sustainable revenue through selective tendering with our strategic clients.”
The firm’s cash at hand decreased slightly from £152.5m to £146.6m at the end of 2023, although it remained free of bank loan debt.
Shareholders received £8.5m in dividends compared with £9m in 2022.
Bam Nuttall’s average monthly headcount grew from 3,476 to 3,503 and Jones said “we anticipate recruiting further in 2024”.
The annual wage bill broke the £200m barrier, at £202.3m.
Successes in 2023 included a place in a joint venture with Siemens Energy as one of 10 preferred bidders on SSEN Transmission’s £10bn Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework.
On the other hand, in July last year, Bam Nuttall left a delayed scheme to build a link road between the M54 and M6 motorways, valued at between £175m and £200m.
Looking ahead, the firm is involved with the early-stage development of small modular nuclear reactors in the UK. In September, it was shortlisted alongside fellow contractor Laing O’Rourke in a consortium led by defence and aerospace firm Rolls-Royce.
Jones said “our outlook remains optimistic but cautious”. Bam Nuttall’s order book stood at £2.6bn at the end of last year, but he noted that the firm “will be applying a conservative approach to 2024 and beyond”.
In particular, directors are monitoring the changing UK political landscape following the general election in July “and the ongoing post-pandemic recovery investment by the government”, he added.
Jones said: “The directors have put various measures in place to deal with scenarios that may arise.”
