M&K MacLeod, the construction company which operates throughout Argyll and the Islands, achieved a further rise in profits in the year to May 31 in spite of tough sector conditions.
The company, which was set up by twin brothers Murdo and Kenny in 1975 and continues to be owned by them, declared it was "cautiously optimistic" about the future both in terms of public sector contracts and a pick-up in private housing markets.
Jane MacLeod, company secretary, said that Lochgilphead-based M&K MacLeod had already seen interest in private housing developments in Mid Argyll and Oban after joining the state-backed "Help to Buy" scheme.
She highlighted plans by the company, which recently agreed a £5 million finance package from banking group Santander to support growth plans, to build up its land bank.
Asked where it was likely to buy land, she replied: "We are looking all over Argyll and the Islands, it is fair to say."
Accounts filed with Companies House show M&K MacLeod made pre-tax profits of £827,421 in the year to May 31. This was up from £753,732 in the preceding 12 months.
M&K MacLeod, which is engaged in construction, property development, quarrying, and the manufacture of timber house kits, windows and doors, made pre-tax profits of £675,189 in the year to May 31, 2011.
The rise in pre-tax profits in the year to May 2013 was achieved in spite of a dip in turnover from £21.97m to £20.7m.
Asked about expected profits in the current financial year to next May, Ms MacLeod replied: "It is looking as if it is as good as the past year anyway."
On likely turnover, she said: "We are on track to be similar."
She attributed the dip in turnover in the year to May 2013 mainly to a slow private housing market.
M&K MacLeod, which counts local authorities and housing associations among its major customers and also operates a petrol station in its home town of Lochgilphead, saw its average workforce rise to 206 in the year to May 31 from 197 in the preceding 12 months.
On top of its staff numbers, the company provides employment for about 200 sub-contractors.
Ms MacLeod highlighted a drive by M&K MacLeod to bring young people into the business, including apprentices and graduates.
Also noting M&K MacLeod had many long-serving employees, she added: "We have got a very loyal workforce, many of whom have been with us for a very long time. We have one or two employees who go back to the 1970s, like the rest of us."
M&K MacLeod is due to complete the final 18 houses of a 101-home social housing development in Lochgilphead, which it is undertaking for housing association Fyne Homes, by Christmas. This development is on the site of the old Lochgilphead High School and Mid Argyll Hospital, and comprises a mixture of rental and shared-equity properties.
M&K MacLeod is also involved in social housing projects on Islay. It is also engaged in private and social housing developments on Tiree. It has recently finished the construction of a community hospital at Craignure on Mull.
The directors of M&K MacLeod say in the accounts: "The construction sector retains a level of uncertainty due to the effects of economic instability, stock market uncertainty and cuts in public spending, which, taken together, continue to result in fragile confidence within the industry."
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