WET News

24 Leaders 2016 Profits up despite increased competition Eric Wright WatEr Sceptre house Sceptre Way Bamber Bridge Preston Pr5 6aW tel: 01772 698822 www.ericwright.co.uk gEorgE LESLiE Blackbyres road, Barrhead glasgow g78 1DU t: 0141 881 9131 www.georgeleslie.co.uk the LeADeRS 2016 Eric Wright Group made steady progress across all its business streams, with its property development business being the main driver behind improved profitability. Chairman Eric Wright said trading conditions in civil engineering have remained challenging, and the market had put margins under intense pressure and strong competition in certain sectors where clients have been affected by the government's austerity measures. However, he said that in terms of workload there had been an increase in the number of good quality opportunities in general infrastructure and the group's water business continued to strengthen its relationship with United Utilities (UU) through delivery of a consistent level of quality and service. Wright said the client base remained strong and included Scottish Water, United Utilities, Severn Trent Water, and the Highways Agency. George Leslie is a civil engineering contractor that focuses on the water, wastewater, marine and energy sectors. It is also involved with heavy civil engineering work. Director John McNaught said that despite increased competition "in what continues to be a highly competitive market resulting in a reduced level of turnover" by focusing on the company's core skills and areas of expertise profitability increased. He said the company's forward workload was satisfactory, and increased levels of activity were expected in its current financial year. Investment in essential plant, machinery and transport for its core activities continued. George Leslie is a privately- owned civil engineering contractor working in Scotland for key customers In its current financial year, Wright expected the water business to continue delivering "an excellent service" to core clients in the North-west, such as UU, and to see significant potential open up in both Scotland and comprising councils, water companies and private clients. George Leslie has also been working on Scottish Water's £3.4M scheme to improve infrastructure in the Greater Glasgow area as part of an ongoing £250M five-year programme of environmental improvements, first announced in February 2013. The work is designed to protect homes and businesses from flooding and improve water quality in the River Severn Trent, where low volume operations had been firmly established and were gaining momentum with their respective water authorities. The group has also picked up MEICA work with Yorkshire Water for AMP6. Clyde and its tributaries. More new projects were added for the scheme towards the end of last year involving the installation of new infrastructure. The company has also been involved with upgrading parts of the 45km-long aqueduct used to supply most of Edinburgh's drinking water. Talla Aqueduct takes water from the Talla and Fruid reservoirs to Glencorse WTW. thE NUMBErS 12/13 13/14 13/14 % chaNgE Sales £M 37.1 40.8 34.8 -15 Gross profit £M 8.3 10.7 11.4 7 Operating profit £M 0.9 0.6 0.9 40 Pre-tax profit £M 0.9 0.7 0.9 38 Staff 166 172 174 1 Net assets £M 4.3 4.9 6.1 25 thE ratioS 12/13 13/14 13/14 % chaNgE Return on capital % 21.0 13.7 15.2 11 Gross margin % 22.4 26.1 32.6 25 Operating margin % 2.4 1.5 2.5 64 Net margin % 2.4 1.6 2.7 62 Sales/employee £K 223.3 237.2 200.1 -16 thE NUMBErS 2012 2013 2014 % chaNgE Sales £M 178.2 152.7 160.6 5 Gross profit £M 11.7 12.5 15.2 22 Operating profit £M 2.7 3.7 6.3 73 Pre-tax profit £M 6.5 6.0 9.4 56 Staff 537 530.0 540.0 2 Net assets £M 63.0 66.4 73.7 11 thE ratioS 2011 2012 2013 % chaNgE Return on capital % 10.4 9.1 12.7 40 Gross margin % 6.6 8.2 9.5 16.1 Operating margin % 1.5 2.4 3.9 64 Net margin % 3.7 3.9 5.8 48 Sales/employee £K 331.8 288.2 297.3 3 Water activities go from strength to strength

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