Announcing flat first-half profits at £1.74m on a 10% up lift in revenue to £27m, chief executive Mark Smith predicted a busy six months ahead, despite initial concerns about the Brexit vote.

He said: “Billington currently has the longest forward order book, in relation to capacity, in the group’s history, and the strength of this provides the company with confidence going into the second half of the year.

“The group is operating in an increasingly confident and re-emerging market which has enabled growth and expansion.”

He added that Brexit had impacted a few projects, but many large opportunities remained in the market and Billington’s long-term strategy has not been adversely affected.

Smith said a strong focus on improving efficiencies had led to consistent and steady improvements in group operating margin, which stood at 6.5% in the first half, compared to 5.4% over the year before.

Billington said it was progressing plans to raise capacity after buying a steel processing and profiling facility at Shafton, five miles from its Barnsley head office. 

He said the acquisition of Shafton provided the group with the opportunity to further expand its operations and drive efficiencies, as well as the potential to develop new business opportunities.  

“With the headway made in the first half of the year, the next six months are set to be a busy period for the company.”