Shares in Renew Holdings rose on Tuesday after the infrastructure engineering services firm reported its highest-ever annual revenues and adjusted profits, ending the financial year with a record order book.
Group revenues over the 12 months to 30 September were up 5.6% at £1.12bn, more or less in line with market estimates despite ongoing challenges for its Rail operations, where it was hit by delays and deferments to a number of renewals schemes.
The adjusted operating profit rose 1.7% to £72.1m, with growth held back by a 20-basis point decline in the adjusted operating margin to 6.5%. However, adjusted earnings per share of 67.1p were 5% ahead of the consensus forecast of 64.0p.
Looking ahead, the company delivered an improving outlook for Rail, despite renewals activity remaining at subdued levels, bolstered by continued momentum in the Water division, and strong performances in Transmission and Distribution.
The order book hit a new high of £915m by the end of the period, up from £889m, the year before, which the company said was "underpinned by long-term framework positions".
Renew declared a final dividend of 13.33p per share, taking the full-year payout to 20.0p, up 5.3% on last year.
"Despite well-documented headwinds in specific areas, our teams have worked tirelessly to deliver another year of record revenues and operating profit alongside the successful execution of a number of our key strategic priorities. As a result, the foundations of this business have never been stronger," said chief executive Paul Scott.
"The momentum with which we have entered the new financial year provides the board with confidence in our ability to meet our FY26 expectations and we look forward to continuing to execute against our growth strategy in the current period and beyond."
The stock was up 3.7% at 947p by 1118 GMT.