British rental company Vp plc last week said revenue grew 7 percent for the first six months of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30. According to Vp’s interim results, revenue was £81.6 million, compared with £76 million for the same period last year. Operating margins increased to 17.1 percent, compared to 15.9 percent for last year’s first half.

Vp chairman Jeremy Pilkington said the company’s diversity is helping it deal with the current economic downturn. “VP benefits from being engaged in a diverse range of markets and while the trading environment is more difficult to predict going forward, we believe this diversity will offer some resilience against the economic climate and positions us to benefit when more normal trading conditions resume,” Pilkington said. “We have only a limited exposure to residential construction, the first and worst hit sector, through our UK Forks business and, to a lesser extent, the Hire Station tool rental activity.”

Vp is based in Harrowhead, Yorkshire, U.K.