Delivering an operating margin of 3.5%, pre-tax profit climbed to £3.6m in the year to April 2022, after a loss of £1.4m previously.

Mark Cutler, chief executive, said there had been a strong rebound across all sectors, although price inflation across the spectrum had impacted margins.

He said: “These results are the first to reflect a full year’s trading post-Covid and demonstrate the positive progress the group is making under its transformation strategy launched in 2019.

“Although the sector continues to face several wider challenges, we have significant opportunities ahead to further improve, and momentum has continued into the new financial year.

“Overall, it is pleasing to see the actions taken over the last three years starting to deliver sustainable results that put us firmly on-track to deliver our medium-term objectives.”

Strong growth in operating cash flows were used to repay debt following the acquisition of ScrewFast Foundation in April 2021 and invest £4.9m in new fleet, including eight new rigs.

Van Elle’s order book at the end of June remained stable at £39m, with current strong activity levels supporting prospects for the year ahead.

Cutler said that significant framework appointments such as the Smart Motorways Programme Alliance and TransPennine Route Upgrade programmes were expected to provide considerable future workflows.

Van Elle said it was now confident of achieving its mid-term financial targets of 5-10% annual revenue growth, 7-8% operating profit margin and 15-20% ROCE.