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J Smart & Co Contractors PLC on Tuesday said the Iran war had sparked material price increases making it difficult to forecast future profitability. The Edinburgh-based construction contractor reported a pretax profit of £106,000 in the six months ending January, down from £128,000 the year prior. Revenue increased to £14.8 million from £9.0 million while cost of sales near doubled to £12.8 million from £6.7 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share were down slightly to 0.16 pence from 0.17p. The dividend is unchanged at 0.96p per share. Sales and reservations at its private housing development at Winchburgh, Canal Quarter have been positive in the reporting period. However, the protracted nature of overall sales on this development continues to adversely affect profitability. The residential development at Rosyth progresses well and negotiations are still ongoing for the affordable housing element at Rosyth. The speculative industrial development at Inchmuir Park, Bathgate is nearing completion but delays with utility infrastructure may prolong the programme, the firm added. The company said material price rises in the wake of the Iran war and ongoing protracted pre-contract process continues to hamper both the viability of projects and site starts. The firm said in light of the war, it is ‘difficult to predict’ what the headline profit will be for the financial year to July. Shares in the firm closed up 2.2% at 115.00 pence each in London on Tuesday. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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