Consultancy firm Turner & Townsend (T&T) has unveiled an 11 % rise in profits after its infrastructure and property practices helped its natural resources division to shrug off plummeting oil prices.
The group, which has 4,100 staff in 90 offices throughout the world, grew its pre-tax profits to an all-time high of £36.7million in the year to 30 April on the back of a 9% rise in revenues to £380million, also a record figure.
Work undertaken in the past year by T&T’s Aberdeen office included project management and cost and construction design management on phase one of the Aberdeen International Business Park (AIBP) on behalf of developer Abstract Securities.
Phase one of the AIBP was occupied by oil and gas services firm Aker Solutions and T&T said the project had been worth £80million in total.
The company has 35 staff in its Aberdeen office covering property and natural resources and no jobs have been lost since the oil price crash.
T&T has 13 offices throughout the UK including branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the firm having been drafted in to manage the Edinburgh Trams project in 2011 after the scheme had ground to a halt.
Revenues from the group’s infrastructure division grew by one-fifth to £106million following its appointment to a series of high-profile projects, including the expansion of airports in Dubai and Hong Kong, and the construction of the Medupi coal-fired power station in South Africa.
Vincent Clancy, chief executive at T&T, said: “Our diverse business model has allowed us to adapt successfully to this year’s shifting marketplace, and delivered some exceptional results both in our emerging markets and in our more mature regions.
“Our record turnover of £380million is an endorsement of the consistent investment we’ve made in the company – and in our staff – over the past five years, and an important milestone in our long-term plan for sustainable growth.”
T&T also unveiled plans to convert the company into a limited liability partnership in order to reward senior staff with stakes in the business.