29th Jan 2025 14:21
(Alliance News) - Van Elle Holdings PLC on Wednesday said profit fell nearly 30% in the first half of its current financial year, but remains confident in the market outlook for full-year growth.
The Nottinghamshire, England-based ground engineering contractor said pretax profit for the six months that ended October 31 was GBP1.9 million, falling 27% from GBP2.5 million last year.
"The impact of the Building Safety Act has caused significant delays to the commencement of numerous taller residential schemes, which has primarily impacted revenues in Rock & Alluvium," Van Elle explained. "Planning delays are expected to be resolved during 2025, providing a stronger workload into financial 2026."
Group revenue tumbled 4.5% to GBP65.2 million from GBP68.2 million, while cost of sales reduced 5.4% to GBP45.0 million from GBP47.5 million. Administrative expenses increased 4.2% to GBP19.6 million from GBP18.8 million.
Van Elle declared an interim dividend of 0.40 pence per share, unchanged from the year before.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutler said: "The group has faced another challenging period, however, it has continued to make significant strategic progress, positioning Van Elle in attractive end markets and strengthening its core offering to deliver for clients. We have been focussed on driving operational efficiencies and have a right-sized cost base, appropriate to the current levels of demand.
"The acquisition of Albion Drilling has accelerated our expansion into both Scotland and the Energy sector and broadened our specialist capabilities, while Specialist Piling activity levels notably increased in the period. The group as a whole has continued to secure a solid pipeline of future work, including several targeted key contract wins. Alongside the increase in volumes experienced in our Housing division, our other key markets are expected to continue improving over the coming months, and coupled with a strong order book, we remain confident in delivering a full-year performance in line with market expectations."
Van Elle cites a company-compiled consensus of GBP6.0 million in profit for the year due to end in April, which would be a 6.9% rise from GBP5.6 million last year.
Shares in Van Elle were down 1.3% at 38.00 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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