Mabey group is investing significantly in the next generation of engineers, products and services to fuel growth in modular bridging, construction services and infrastructure monitoring services.
The investments - £18 million in the financial year 2015/16 and further significant new investment in the current financial year - are outlined in Mabey’s latest report and accounts filed today at Companies House.
The financial results reflect Mabey’s strategic decision to exit the heavy steel and onshore wind turbine markets in order to focus on growing markets including modular bridging, temporary works and infrastructure monitoring.
For the year ended 30th September 2016, Mabey Group pre-tax profits increased to £11.9m (2015: £1.8m) on reduced turnover of £109m (2015: £141m). Cash balances increased to £67m (2015: £57m).
Turnover of the discontinued businesses was £3.8m (2015: £31.6m) with operating profits of £4.4m (2015: loss of £9.7m).
The continuing businesses generated turnover of £105m (2015: 110m) and operating profits of £6.9m (2015: £12.7m).
Revenues and profits in the US matting market were impacted by the downturn in oil and gas markets. The hire markets in the UK, Australia and New Zealand reported modest revenue growth but with some cost pressure impacting margins, and the modular bridging business reported lower revenues but a growing pipeline.
Recent innovations and investments include creating an industry first by integrating infrastructure monitoring data with 3D BIM models in real time to create LIVEBIM; new robots to speed up production of the world’s most popular modular bridge; introducing Mabey’s largest struts to the US markets, and new ‘SmartEdge’ panels to customise steel bridges to suit local preferences. Mabey is also continuing to invest in improving its engineering capabilities to help customers deliver their projects more quickly, safely and efficiently.
Long term forecasts for the infrastructure and hire markets in the UK and USA remain robust whilst the forecasts for Mabey’s markets in Australia and New Zealand are still affected by the slowdown in the Chinese economy, although recent signs are more encouraging.
The world market for bridging remains strong but decision-making on significant government sponsored projects continues to be protracted, resulting in lower sales in the 2015/16 year but continuing growth in the long-term sales pipeline.
