Sheffield infrastructure firm Fulcrum expands workforce as revenues hit £44m

Fulcrum, the Sheffield-based independent multi-utility infrastructure and services provider, has reported revenue growth and unveiled further expansion plans in its audited preliminary results.

For the year ending 31st March 2018, Fulcrum saw revenues grow to £44.8m, an increase of 18.8% on its previous financial year, and a 19.2% rise in EBITDA to £8.7m.

Pre-tax profit also increased from £6.5m to £7m.

The company said that this growth has been delivered organically, supported by its acquisition of Dunamis and CDS Pipe Services during the year.

The acquisitions have enabled Fulcrum to expand its workforce by 38%, now employing 281 across the UK.

Fulcrum also achieved growth in its order book, which has risen by 39% since March 2017 to £42.8m, including a proportion of work secured through its recent acquisitions.

The company has also announced its intention to become an accredited Meter Operator (MOP) as part of a strategy to install and adopt Smart Meters and to further strengthen its range of services and asset ownership.

In the past year, the expansion of Fulcrum’s range of services to the multi-utility market included the formation of its electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure division and a new partnership arrangement formed in May 2018 with US company, ChargePoint.

Fulcrum also continued to develop its utility infrastructure adoption and ownership strategy with its iDNO electrical asset licence, becoming fully-operational and its annualised purchase of gas assets increasing to £10m.

In addition, to support further planned growth in its utility asset ownership, Fulcrum has agreed a new debt facility for up to £20m, which replaces the previous facility that was undrawn at the year end.

As a result of its financial year, Fulcrum’s board has recommended a final dividend of 1.4p per share, an increase from 1.3p in 2017, resulting in a full-year dividend of 2.1p per share, up 10.5% on the previous year.

Martin Harrison, CEO of Fulcrum, said: “This has been a transformative year for Fulcrum in which we continued to deliver against our strategy and strengthen our market position.

“We have driven strong organic growth in our core business and have expanded our in-house capabilities and share in the electric and specialist gas connections markets following the acquisitions of Dunamis and CDS.

“We remain committed to safety, providing excellent customer service, enhancing our in-house multi-utility and infrastructure services capabilities and growing the utility asset base.

“The combination of the new £20.0m debt facility and our net cash of £9.4m positions us well for investing in new opportunities such as the ownership of electric utility assets, electric vehicle charging and smart metering solutions. We have a strong platform for continued profitable growth in the coming year and remain confident for the future.”

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