The Group has released its FY21 Annual Report, 20 years since the completion of the 2001 acquisition of Laing Construction by R. O'Rourke & Son Ltd.
Laing O'Rourke reported earnings before interest and tax for the financial year ended 31 March 2021 (FY21) of £69.9m (FY20: £72.9m), delivering a Group profit before tax of £41.4m (FY20: £45.5m) with an ongoing order book of £7.9bn (FY20: £8.2bn).
FY21's accounts show a business continuing to deliver certainty and technical excellence for clients and stakeholders, and well positioned to achieve sustainable growth in its targeted global sectors.
Laing O'Rourke reduced its bank debt position by £56m in FY21, and by a further £126m since the financial year end. This enabled the business to terminate a multi-bank financing arrangement in place since 2016 - and replace it with an unsecured Revolving Credit Facility for £35m with long-time supporter HSBC, under more agile terms and conditions.
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The new funding arrangement incentivises or penalises Laing O’Rourke depending on its progress against key sustainability metrics: reducing carbon intensity, diverting waste from landfill, and increasing the number of women in project delivery.
During the refinancing process, the shareholders converted £58m in loans and interest to equity, demonstrating their ongoing confidence in the group’s strategic direction, enabled by continued investment in people, technology and its self-delivery operating model.
Chief Financial Officer Rowan Baker: "I am pleased to present my second financial review for Laing O’Rourke, concluding my first full trading period with the Group. The year ending 31 March 2021 was a time of unprecedented challenges for our business, the sector, and the world over – as governments, communities and industry responded to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Project and productivity impacts affected the first four months of the year, but our people worked tirelessly to keep our sites and supply chain moving. The Group resumed full operations in the second half of FY21, delivering an overall two per cent full year increase in revenue year on year to £2.5bn (FY20: £2.4bn), a full year profit before interest and tax of £69.9m (FY20: £72.9m) and EBITDA of £114.8m (FY20: £121.6m).
"There was a significant net cash improvement during the year of £120.9m, and we finished FY21 with net cash of £276.1m. These solid results and strong cash positions enabled us to accelerate the restructure of our debt facilities and set the foundations for future growth.
"The business has continued to perform strongly in the first half of FY22 and is on track to meet management's expectations of continued revenue and margin growth, as we focus on delivery of our 2025 strategic targets."
