Morgan Sindall has enjoyed a strong start to 2018 with the Group on track to deliver 2018 full year results slightly ahead of previous expectations.

In a trading update for the period from 01 January 2018 to date, the company said it has continued its positive momentum coming into the start of the year and "overall trading has been strong".

With a committed order book (as at 31 March 2018) sitting at £3.7 billion, with the regeneration & development pipeline sitting at £3.2bn, Morgan Sindall said an ongoing focus on quality of earnings has enabled Construction & Infrastructure to deliver further margin growth as expected. In addition, its Property Services division has returned to profit, securing the benefit from last year's restructuring.

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Morgan Sindall said: "Fit Out has had another period of strong operational delivery. Based upon the performance to date and the order book and visible prospects for the rest of the year, it is now expected that Fit Out will deliver a result for the year which is higher than previously expected and in line with last year.

"Partnership Housing and Urban Regeneration have progressed their development schemes as planned and as usual will both likely show a second half weighting to results. In Investments, the recently announced £2bn Property Delivery Joint Venture with Hertfordshire County Council further demonstrated the division's strategic importance to the Group."

The Group also expects its average daily net cash for the year will exceed £70m.

John Morgan, Chief Executive, said: "We have had a good start to the year and all divisions are continuing to make strategic and operational progress.

"Our balance sheet and cash position are both very strong and give us the flexibility to continue focusing on quality of earnings in our construction activities, while investing in our regeneration activities to drive long-term value. Our strong order book and customer relationships enable us to look to the future with confidence."

(LM/MH)