Carillion appoints new finance director and reports rise in pre-tax profit

BUILDINGS and support services company Carillion has announced the appointment of a new finance director as it reported a rise in first half profits and sales led by strong growth in its support services business.

Zafar Khan, Carillion’s financial controller since 2013, will take over as group finance director in December when he succeeds Richard Adams, who has decided to retire.

Khan joined the group in 2011 and served as finance director of its Al Futtaim Carillion joint venture in the UAE. Previously he was chief financial officer at Associated British Ports Holdings.

Commenting, Carillion chairman, Philip Green, said, “Zafar has already made a significant contribution to the success of the group and his appointment continues our excellent track record of developing our own people and allows for a seamless transition following Richard Adam’s retirement.

The appointment was announced at the same time Carillion reported a 24% increase in interim pre-tax profit to £83.9m for the six months ended June 30. Sales increased 10% to £2.6bn for the same period.

The performance was led by revenue and margin growth in in support services, which accounted for some 60% of total underlying operating profit.

“New order intake in the first half of the year has been strong and continues to reflect the success of our strategy and strength of our business model.  Overall, we remain on track to make further progress in 2016,” said Green.