Henry Boot on target

Henry Boot’s financial performance remains in-line with management expectations, the company reported in a trading update. It said there had been no material change in the group’s financial position since the issue of the interim management statement back in November.

Revenues for the year to the end of December were expected to be about £128m with anticipated underlying trading profit in line with management forecasts. Property valuations were expected to be largely unchanged from the position at the end of June as investment values had since been relatively stable. The company said its balance sheet remained “robust” with gearing at the year-end of approximately six percent compared with 18 percent in 2009.

The board remained focused on maximising the returns from the group’s businesses in the short term while continuing to manage debt levels prudently, the company said. Selective profitable development opportunities were now beginning to emerge and Henry Boot hoped to begin to reinvest resources back into these areas of activity over the next couple of years.

It said it believed that in the longer term the group would increasingly capitalise on its store of assets and opportunities, capable of generating excellent returns as markets improved.