ABERDEENSHIRE-based Bancon Group has reported a ‘strong’ year of trading, partly driven by a 33% rise in its homes business.
The housebuilding and construction group recorded a 16% increase in turnover for the year ended March 2023, rising £18 million to £132 million.
Despite cost inflation and ‘well-documented headwinds’ being experienced by the industry, the firm revealed it delivered operating profits of £4.6 million. Pre-tax profits of £1.8 million were lower than the £2.7 million reported in the previous year as a result of writing down the value of a long-held development.
The record level of activity for Bancon Homes resulted in turnover of £68.4 million – up from £51.3 million in the previous financial year. Bancon attributed this to the ‘resilience’ of the markets in which it operates, the quality of the product, the attractiveness of the locations, and a focus on customer service which has led to a Gold Award for customer satisfaction from Inhouse Research for the sixth consecutive year.
Bancon Homes brought forward future phases of its developments in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and started on two new developments in Scotland’s central belt.
Turnover at Bancon Construction was £35.5 million, 18% higher than the previous year, while profits before tax were the highest reported since 2007. This, the group added, has been achieved through ‘structural changes and tight margin control’. Bancon Construction has an order book with turnover in excess of £40 million secured in the current financial year.
Despite an overall slowdown in the market in the second-half of the financial year, Deeside Timberframe reported a turnover of £28 million, slightly down on last year’s £32.6 million. The business is investing in facilities and production efficiencies to counter the rise in the cost of raw materials and deliver a ‘step-change’ in growth across Scotland and England.
The group reports a ‘positive outlook’ for 2023-2024 and has renewed its banking facilities with Santander for a further three years to December 2026.
Chief executive Kevin McColgan, who joined the group in September, commented, “These robust results, with a second consecutive year of increased homes sales, combined with the renewal of our banking facility, demonstrate the success of our current strategies and the confidence in our future prospects. Our strong financial position, positive sales performance in the current financial year and strong forward orders means we are exceptionally well-placed to invest in and deliver our growth ambitions even against the backdrop of the rising costs of raw materials and the wider economic uncertainties.”
