Severfield reports order book growth

Steelwork contractor Severfield has seen its UK order book grow by a third to £246M in just three months signaling the structural steelwork sector is in good health.

Severfield Chief Executive Officer Ian Lawson (pictured) said the firm’s operating margins were also on the rise in line with management expectations.

This margin improvement came primarily from the internal efficiency benefits arising from the group’s operational improvement programme.

In a trading statement this week, he said: “The market continues to present a good level of opportunities although as indicated in November’s interim results, slippage in potential timescales still remains a risk as clients scrutinise forecast overall project costs with caution.”

He added that the current order book would enable continued growth in both revenue and margins.

The group’s Indian business, JSW Severfield Structures (India), continued to perform “satisfactorily” with its order book increasing by 11% to £39M, up from £35M on 1 November 2015.

The market in India though remains “challenging,” Severfield said, adding that it sees “limited” opportunities for margin improvement at this time.