Morgan Sindall has predicted that its 2018 results will be ahead of previous expectations following a strong start to the year.

In an upbeat trading statement issued ahead of today’s AGM, chief executive John Morgan said the “positive momentum” across the group coming into 2018 has continued and overall trading has been “strong”.

The group’s committed order book as at 31 March 2018 was £3.7 billion, while the regeneration & development pipeline was £3.2bn.

The average daily net cash from the start of the year to 30 April was £126 million. As a result, the group said it expects that the average daily net cash for the year will be in excess of £70m.

The ongoing focus on quality of earnings has enabled Construction & Infrastructure to deliver further margin growth as expected, while Property Services has returned to profit, securing the benefit from last year’s restructuring.

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.

Meanwhile, 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.

Looking ahead, based upon the performance to date of Fit Out and its prospects for the rest of the year, the Group is on track to deliver 2018 full year results slightly ahead of its previous expectations.

John Morgan 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.”