WET News

THE LEADERS 2019 Newly rebranded nmcn continues its ascent W ith North Midland Construction and Nomenca having rebranded under a single identity as nmcn in November, the company is looking to build on its recent spell of success. "We needed to refresh. We needed to be known," nmcn chief executive John Homer tells The Leaders 2019. "People say: 'We see you everywhere now.' We always were everywhere but people didn't see us because we didn't have that brand consistency. We do believe it's going to put us in a good position going forward." A€er making an operating loss in 2013 and 2014, the company has seen revenues increase significantly year-on- year, rising 16.7 per cent to £340.45 million in 2018, and its operating profit before tax is up from £1 million to £6.02 million. "We've labelled that as being respect- able," Homer says. "While it's good to see from where we've been, we have aspira- tions to improve on that by looking at efficiency and the way we do things." He is more satisfied with the com- pany's year-end cash balance, which leapt 96 per cent to £33.35 million and was achieved while reducing its average payment period to 38 creditor days. Homer was appointed in June 2016, shortly a€er what he describes as a "difficult period" for the business. "We actually made serious losses in 2013 and 2014," he says. "The growth came really in 2015. We've gone from £193.2 million revenue in 2014 to the £340.45 million today." Nmcn has an order book of £320 million, with approximately 65 per cent of that from the water sector, and has already secured some significant contracts for AMP7: it is the sole contractor on South West Water's £225 million civil engineering capital works framework and secured places on the first two lots of Severn Trent's capital delivery framework. The company continues to secure business with the water-only companies and is carrying out a £56 million NMCN Nunn Close, The County Estate, Huthwaite, Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 2HW. Tel: 01623 515 008 www.nmcn.com design-and-build project to develop a new sewage treatment works in Jersey, and there is optimism that it will be able to secure further frameworks and projects. "Our offering to the industry is the reason we've been able to enjoy such successful turnover," Homer says. "We do design, with quite a lot of in-house design staff; we can pick things up from someone else's concept; we have our own products business where we're manufacturing chemical dosing rigs, ductile steel works and motorised control centres, and we intend to expand that products offering; we offer offsite build solutions, which we've won accolades for; and we also have long-term repair and maintenance contracts. "I think the offering we make now to the water industry is quite compelling. If you look at the contractors who are really interested in water at the moment as a particular focus, there aren't that many." Homer expects AMP7 to pose greater challenges and says nmcn will "without doubt" adapt its approach, with improved service for customers a key area of focus. It also recently launched a Positive Impact plan looking at social value, which is set to guide its strategy. "It's just responsible business," Homer says. "Everybody we come into contact with – be it Government, customers, supply chain, media or our staff – is saying this is a big issue for our business and for us as a nation. We wanted a robust, overarching plan that sets out our targets for the coming years. It's the right way to do things." THE NUMBERS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Sales £m 177.6 193.2 217.6 250.5 291.8 16 Gross profit £m 41.9 51.6 60.1 67.6 78.6 16 Operating profit £m -5.9 -2.8 0.8 2.2 1.2 -47 Pre-tax profit £m -6.0 -3.0 0.6 2.1 1.0 -51 Staff 1,067 1,149 1,183 1,280 1,422 11 Net assets £m 61.2 64.3 71.4 78.4 87.1 11 THE RATIOS 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change Return on capital % -9.8 -4.6 0.8 2.6 1.2 -56 Gross margin % 23.6 26.7 27.6 27.0 26.9 -0 Operating margin % -3.3 -1.5 0.4 0.9 0.4 -54 Net margin % -3.4 -1.5 0.3 0.8 0.3 -58 Sales/employee £k 166.4 168.1 183.9 195.7 205.2 5 26 LEADERS 2019 John Homer is hopeful nmcn can build on its 2018 results

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