Infrastructure services group May Gurney has revealed a drop in underlying pre-tax profit to £1.1m from £14.5m last time in its financial results for the half-year ended 30 September 2012.
The figures follow a shock profit warning in September as the firm revealed problems with its Scottish utilities division and Facilities Services division. The month also saw former chief executive Philip Fellows-Prynne suddenly depart the company.
A £10m charge was taken for the closure of the Facilities Services division, while plans to address operational issues “are on track,” May Gurney said. It has significantly reduced operations in Scotland supporting Scotia Gas Networks (SGN).
Group revenues rose 4 per cent year on year to £338.9m (2011: £324.7m). Underlying EBITA stood at £12.6m (2011: £14.7m), achieving an operating margin of 3.7 per cent after bidding and mobilisation costs were written off as incurred, down on 2011’s figure of 4.5 per cent.
May Gurney saw an uplift on its reactive clean and waste water contracts caused by the poor summer weather, and more work associated with the maintenance of private drains and sewers. However, this was offset by the issues with SGN in Scotland.
Commenting on the results, Margaret Ford, chairman of May Gurney, said:
"May Gurney's first-half performance was in line with our revised expectations. We have taken steps to reinforce commercial disciplines and the plans we put in place to address the operational issues we announced in September are on track. As expected, the process to resolve the two MaGOS environmental services contracts is complex, and will continue well into next year.
"We continue to target resilient, maintenance-focused revenue streams for essential services by developing long-term relationships with our clients and local communities. Our strong commercial market positions are reflected by the fact that we have secured more than £314 million of business in the first-half. Our forward order book has been maintained at £1.5 billion, with a further £1.7 billion in potential contract extensions, and our bidding pipeline stands at c£4billion.
"May Gurney is focused on delivering a solid future performance. Whilst mindful of the challenging market, we look forward to further progress in the second half and remain on course to meet our revised expectations for the full year."
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.