Revenue was up 18% to £183.7m for the half-year, adjusted operating profit was up 108% to £4.7m and reported pre-tax profit was up from £600k for the same period last year to £4.4m this time, an increase of more than 600%.
Operating margin improved from 1.4% last time to 2.5%.
The group's order book at 31 March 2012 was £304m (2011: £334m). The reduction from one year ago is due to the decision to exit non-specialist building activities in the north. The Specialist Building business is now concentrated on target markets in the south.
The Engineering Services division saw its revenue rise 49% to £106.5m (H1 2011: £71.3m) and operating profit rise 88% to £4.5m (H1 2011: £2.4m). Its order book was up 40% to £229m by the end of the period (H1 2011: £164m). These results were boosted by the acquisition of Amco in February 2011.
Net debt has been reduced from £10.3m to £6.9m.
Chief executive Brian May said: “The group's growth strategy is to increase revenue in Engineering Services and concentrate activities on the renewal, refurbishment and maintenance of operational assets in markets with strong regulatory drivers which provide good visibility of sustainable earnings. We continue to explore opportunities to increase the skills and expertise of the group in Engineering Services through acquisitions with attractive and sustainable margins.”
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