Piling and ground engineering is one of the toughest arenas of construction to operate in at present.
Most of the big players in the sector are suffering. Revenue among the 10 largest UK geotechnical contractors was down by 9% from 拢306.4m to 拢278.9m.
They suffered a collective loss of 拢12.3m (see table below), more than half of it accounted for by the no.1 UK firm, Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering.
| Rank by turnover | Rank by profit | Company | Latest turnover (拢m) | Previous turnover (拢m) | Latest pre-tax profit (拢m) | Previous pre-tax profit (拢m) | Latest margin (%) | Previous margin (%) |
| 1 | 10 | Balfour Beatty GE | 62.0 | 65.8 | -7.7 | 0.5 | -12.4 | 0.8 |
| 2 | 9 | Keller UK | 50.4 | 36.4 | -2.9 | 0.3 | -5.8 | 0.8 |
| 3 | 1 | Bachy Soletanche | 42.7 | 75.6 | 0.9 | -0.3 | 2.1 | -0.4 |
| 4 | 8 | Cementation Skanska | 38.9 | 48.3 | -1.8 | 0.1 | -4.6 | 0.2 |
| 5 | 2 | Van Elle* | 30.0 | 29.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
| 6 | 4 | Dawson Wam | 17.0 | 19.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| 7 | 6 | Rock and Alluvium** | 13.8 | 10.9 | -0.3 | -0.8 | -2.2 | -7.3 |
| 8 | 5 | Miller Piling | 10.9 | 6.6 | -0.2 | -0.5 | -1.8 | -7.6 |
| 9 | 3 | Bauer Technologies | 7.1 | 10.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 5.6 | 5.9 |
| 10 | 7 | Aarsleff*** | 6.1 | 4.2 | -1.6 | -1.9 | -26.2 | -45.2 |
| 听 | 听 | Totals | 278.9 | 306.4 | -12.3 | -1.3 | -4.2 | -5.0听 |
*Results for year ending 30 April 2011.
**Results for year ending 30 June 2011.
***Results for year ending 30 September 2011.
All other results for year ending 31 December 2010.
For the year to 31 December 2010, Balfour Beatty's piling business posted a turnover of 拢62m (2009: 拢65.8m) and a pre-tax loss of 拢7.7m (2009: 拢0.5m profit). This puts the firm top of the table on turnover, but bottom on profitability.
The directors' report blamed the loss on the 鈥渁dverse macroeconomic environment, price competition and some adverse contract performance鈥�. However, it added that a 鈥渟trong order book鈥� had 鈥渢o some extent mitigated the immediate effects on turnover鈥�.
Keller UK, which sits second in the table, also dived into the red to the tune of 拢2.9m (2009: 拢0.3m profit), even though it increased revenue from by over a third from 拢36.4m (2009) to 拢50.4m (2010). This was partly down to the transfer of trading operations from other parts of the Keller Group into the UK business.
Bachy on acquisition trail
Bachy Soletanche has slipped from being the UK's largest geotechnical contractor to third spot, with results for 2010 showing a dramatic fall in turnover to 拢42.7m from 拢75.6m in 2009.
However, it achieved the distinction of being posting the biggest pre-tax profit of the top 10, finishing in the black to the tune of 拢0.9m, after a 拢0.3m the year before.
Bachy, of course, has subsequently acquired another piling outfit, the struggling Roger Bullivant, which is likely to put the contractor back on top of the pile next year. It acquired Simplex Foundations in 2009.
Cementation Skanska was also heavily in the red, reporting a pre-tax loss of 拢1.9m (2009: 拢0.1m) on reduced turnover of 拢38.9m (2009: 拢48.3m).
Van Elle's strong showing
Van Elle looks in the healthiest position of the bigger geotechnical contractors. Its turnover, for the year to 31 March 2011, was steady at 拢30m (2010: 拢29.3m), and the firm was in the black for the second year running, with a pre-tax profit of 拢0.7m (2009: 拢0.4m).
The directors' report attributed its strong performance to 鈥渢he tight control of our finances and increased efficiencies in on-site activities鈥�.
Dawson Wam also stayed marginally in the black despite a fall in turnover to 拢17m for the year to 31 December 2010 (2009: 拢19.2m).
Both Rock and Alluvium and Miller Piling posted pre-tax losses, for the second successive year, even though each contractor increased turnover by around a third.
Bauer Technologies saw its turnover go in the opposite direction, but was rewarded by a decent pre-tax profit.
Aarsleff suffered another year of heavy losses, though turnover increased by almost half.
Outside the top 10, Laing O'Rourke subsidiary Expanded Piling, once one of the major players in the sector, saw its turnover fall even further to just 拢1.1m for the year to 31 March 2011 (2010: 拢3.7m), though the firm remains comfortably in the black.
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