Van Elle, the ground engineering contractor, has hailed “significantly increased revenues” for the six months ended 31 October 2021, ahead of announcing its half-year results.
In a trading update, the Nottinghamshire-based company said strong activity levels have continued in most divisions, leading to significantly increased revenues of approximately £60m in the period.
This represents a 56% increase over the prior year comparative period (HY21: £38.3m) as well as a return to growth over pre-Covid comparative revenues, with run rates exiting the period showing good capacity usage across all divisions.
The business added that, as expected, recovery in Rail volumes continued to lag the other segments, with residential construction showing the highest activity levels. However the Rail business has seen an improvement in enquiries and contract activity towards the end of the period, according to Van Elle, which is expected to continue in the second half.
Meanwhile the firm has continued to experience the effects of industry-wide supply chain challenges, salary inflation and short-term employee availability. “These challenges continue to be mitigated at an operational level,” Van Elle said. “Management is focused on improving its margin mix and remains confident that the strong market recovery and divisional performance will underpin an improved outlook.”
