- Revenues and profits rocket as business capitalises on unique products and off-site approach
- Merit Health delivering important projects in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and bioscience
- Factory expansion set to further power growth at North East based company
Cramlington, UK, 16 February 2023 – Northumberland-headquartered Merit, the UK's leading offsite engineering and construction specialist for technically complex, zero-carbon emission buildings, has today announced its financial results for the year ending June 30th, 2022. A record year saw overall revenues climb by 44% to £60,220,482 and EBITDA rise by 374% to £4,570,521 following a string of major project wins and completions and the use of its proprietary platform design and increases in productivity.
Proprietary Platform Design
Merit is a single source manufacturer for design and build projects and its products include UltraPOD® and FLEXI POD®, both of which are used across a wide range of sectors, but particularly within the healthcare, pharmaceutical, bioscience, battery manufacture and semiconductor industries. Both products which deliver projects with 75%-95% PMV (Pre- Manufactured Value) in around half the time a traditional design and build process.
The Group's subsidiary Merit Health is focussed on providing a superior solution to building healthcare facilities quicker, at a lower cost and with zero carbon emissions in operation. The offering is ideal for any facilities with requirements for superior infection control and high containment (including biocontainment), such as advanced therapies, theatres, bioscience manufacture and laboratories.
Group Financial Highlights – Year ending 30th June 2022
- Consolidated revenues £60,220,482 - 44% increase on 2021
- Gross Profit £11,083,010 - 91% increase on 2021
- EBITDA £4,570,521 - 374% increase on 2021
- Gross cash at year end £6,698,035 - 293% increase on 2021
- Net assets £11,138,166 - 50% increase on 2021
Projects
During the financial year, Merit completed and embarked on a number of major projects. This included completion of the UK's first Messenger RNA vaccine manufacturing facility for CPI in Darlington which was handed over in approximately half the time (30 weeks) compared with traditional methods of construction.
Work has also completed on the first phase of the UK's first CAR T-cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility based in Stevenage for Autolus Theraputics. This was a £66m development which utilised Merit's FLEXI POD®, a hybrid solution which is particularly suitable for complex high technology facilities. It comprised aspects of modern methods of construction for the shell and core, and an offsite manufactured fit out which was facilitated through a Pre-Assembled Module (PAM) and POD strategy.
Work also started on the £45m expansion project for Piramal's Antibody Drug Conjugate manufacturing facility at Grangemouth.
Factory expansion
Merit operates from one of the largest offsite manufacturing facilities in Europe comprising 250,000sqft. The company is currently expanding the manufacturing facilities with a further 40,000sqft double height extension. This will provide capability to assemble products up to 3-storeys high enabling pre-commissioning before delivery and for clients to see their facilities before installation.
Productivity
Merit has focussed on increasing productivity and output per employee was £275,000 during the year ended 30 June 2022 compared with £247,000 achieved during the previous year.
Tony Wells, Merit's Managing Director, said: "These results show that the business is now beyond a proof-of-concept stage and is delivering sustainable and profitable growth. Our approach and products are being chosen to deliver significant UK projects faster, more efficiently and more sustainably than traditional building methods.
He continued: "We are confident of maintaining our current growth path and winning further strategically important projects, as we continue to refine our products with a clear focus on innovation and automation. We're investing in people, apprentices, technology, and factories, to underpin future demand. We are also helping inward investment back to the UK where life science companies are choosing us over overseas competitors."
Source: Merit@instinctif.com
