WET News

Lewis reaches £50M sales mark LEWIS CIVIL ENGINEERING Mwyndy Cross Industries Cardiff Road Pontyclun Rhondda Cynon Taff CF72 8PN Tel: 01443 449 200 www.lewis-ltd.co.uk THE LEADERS 2019 Formed in 1984, Lewis Civil Engineering initially specialised in deep sewer and water main pipelines before expanding into the construction of associated water, wastewater treatment and general utility infrastructure works. The company, which is owned by Renew Holdings and is headquartered in Pontyclun, South Wales, operates as a main contractor or strategic supplier to its clients with all the necessary skills to deliver on long-term framework and multi-million-pound schemes. It reached a turnover of £50 million in 2017/18, with sales up 33 per cent, and recorded impressive pre-tax profits of £3 million. Clients include Welsh Water, Wessex Water and Severn Trent, while last year it won its first contract with Bristol Water. One of the biggest projects it has worked on during AMP6 has been Wessex's Integrated Water Supply Grid, the £225 million scheme linking up the south of Mace Group said in its last annual report that it had experienced a "year of stabilisation" as it focused on better management of project risks, improving margins, delivering service excellence for its clients, innovation and strengthening its balance sheet. Turnover remained flat at £1.9 billion, but pre-tax profits more than doubled to £23 million as profit margins improved markedly. The company also launched a five-year business strategy that it says will guide its decision- making and ensure it delivers sustainable margins of at least 2.5 per cent by 2022. Mace has been a key delivery partner for Affinity Water during AMP6, enabling major efficiencies during the replacement of 600 kilometres of its water mains. Through in-depth analysis of renewal costs, and by identifying where new target costs and savings could be made, it managed to shrink the unit cost of this work by almost a third. the utility's supply area with the north. As well as the water utilities, the company has also worked as part of framework contracts for the Environment Agency and the Canals & Rivers Trust. Recent projects have included the £1.9 million renewal of Talybont Reservoir for Welsh Water, which required the replacement of a high-risk cast iron main and a temporary overpumping solution; Taunton Clean & Clear, a £12 million programme of mains refurbishment, cleaning and slip lining in the Taunton area; and the Nailsea Mace is also working through a 10-year cost and commercial management deal with Severn Trent that will take it through AMP7. The company's offering to utilities includes project and programme management, cost consultancy, construction management, facilities management, utilities management services, business improvement, safety, health and environment management, planning supervision and design management. Mace chief executive Mark Reynolds said: "Over the last five years, we have seen sewer upgrade for Wessex Water. The company's specialist capabilities include mains renewal, trenchless techniques, structural engineering and sha£ construction, and response units for burst mains. Lewis has won the gold award for four years in succession from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA). With 218 staff, the company is also committed to both the CSCS and CPCS skills and plant certification schemes and a member of the South Wales Construction Safety Group. incredible organic growth and delivered amazing, world- leading projects for our clients. Our 2022 Business Strategy will help us provide even more career opportunities for our people, ensure we remain a resilient and consistently profitable business and deliver projects in a better way. "Importantly, we must now transform ourselves at pace by using the tools available to us. "Only by embracing innovation and offsite solutions will we tackle the skills shortages and become the leader of a more progressive construction industry." THE NUMBERS 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 % change Sales £m 32.8 25.3 24.5 37.7 50.1 33 Gross profit £m 4.0 3.3 3.0 4.2 3.8 -8 Operating profit £m 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.9 2.0 9 Pre-tax profit £m 1.7 2.0 1.4 2.2 2.3 3 Staff 163 165 159 186 218 17 Net assets £m 3.2 3.8 3.9 4.2 5.1 21 THE RATIOS 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 % change Return on capital % 53.3 51.6 35.1 52.7 44.6 -15 Gross margin % 12.2 13.0 12.4 11.0 7.6 -31 Operating margin % 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.9 4.0 -18 Net margin % 5.2 7.8 5.6 5.8 4.5 -22 Sales/employee £k 201.0 153.4 154.4 202.7 229.6 13 THE NUMBERS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Sales £m 1,181.1 1,486.5 1,727.3 1,965.8 1,971.7 0 Gross profit £m 137.6 128.6 133.1 118.0 135.7 15 Operating profit £m 30.5 32.2 19.1 9.4 26.5 181 Pre-tax profit £m 32.4 34.6 36.2 10.7 23.0 114 Staff 3,806 4,160 4,401 4,431 4,731 7 Net assets £m 25.7 52.5 66.3 61.2 62.7 2 THE RATIOS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Return on capital % 125.9 65.8 54.6 17.5 36.7 109 Gross margin % 11.6 8.6 7.7 6.0 6.9 15 Operating margin % 2.6 2.2 1.1 0.5 1.3 180 Net margin % 2.7 2.3 2.1 0.5 1.2 114 Sales/employee £k 310.3 357.3 392.5 443.7 416.8 -6 Mace goes through stabilising year MACE 155 Moorgate London EC2M 6XB Tel: 0203 522 3000 www.macegroup.com LEADERS 2019 21

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