Vp plc going steady

As the markets have stabilised, Vp plc has seen its revenues improve over recent months, though some depots have had to be closed and redundancies made.

Due to the improving conditions, group revenues are now running at approximately 85% of pre-Covid levels.

Though, the initial positive impact from the re-opening of existing sites has slowed and the business has become more reliant on new projects starting.

Infrastructure work, in particular, is expected to be supportive as projects such as AMP7, HS2 and Hinkley Point start to gain momentum.

However, Vp plc remains cautions with regard to short-to-medium-term prospects as it awaits evidence of a recovery in confidence and the commencement of new projects. The group also acknowledges that the pandemic is yet to be brought fully under control.

More than 100 of the 120 locations that had been mothballed at the peak of the pandemic have now been reopened in response to the growing demand seen from customers who are themselves returning to work.

However, 17 branches have been either merged or closed as capacity has been aligned with the current level of demand. As a result, approximately 150 redundancies have been made across the group’s various businesses, in the UK and internationally.

Vp plc has reduced its debt by £41 million to just under £119 million at 30 September, 2020. This was attributed to strong cost control, reduced capital expenditure and good working capital management.

The group’s longer-term outlook remains positive and it was said to be proactively identifying organic growth opportunities. In this case, particular focus is being put on parts of the group’s businesses that are already achieving pre-Covid levels of trading.