U.K. equipment rental company Vp plc posted £84 million (about U.S. $134.6 million) in revenue for its fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, the Harrowgate, U.K., company said. Profit before tax and amortization increased 6 percent to £11 million. While revenue growth was just 2 percent, the results were seen as favorable considering the difficult economic conditions in most Vp markets.
“The challenging trading conditions that we face in many of our markets have not abated to any significant degree and we therefore believe that these results represent an excellent achievement,” said Vp chairman Keremy Pilkington. “The strength of these figures highlight the benefit of Vp’s well-established strategy of focusing on specialist sectors where the Group enjoys strong market positions. We have continued to invest in our people, systems and fleet to ensure sustainable performance over the medium and long term.”
Vp’s Groundforce division increased profits 19 percent, doing particularly well in Scotland and the north of England, despite soft general construction demand. The plant business Vp acquired from Balfour Beatty has been well integrated into its UK Forks division, the company said.
