Strong six months for Vp

For the six months to 30 September, 2015, profit before tax and amortisation at UK equipment rental company Vp rose 6% year-on-year to £17.2 million (€102 million), while revenues were up 4% to £105 million (€150 million).

Vp owns the UK Forks, Groundforce, Airpac Bukom, Hire Station, Torrent Trackside and TPA businesses. The largest of these by revenues is Hire Station, which reported an “outstanding” performance with revenues up 9% year-on-year to £39.2 million (€55.9 million) and profits up 27% to £6.1 million (€8.7 million).

UK Forks posted profits of £2.9 million (€4.1 million), up 25% year-on-year, on revenues 7% ahead at £9.8 million (€14 million). Groundforce also saw growth, with operating profits 12% ahead at £5.6 million (€8 million) and revenues up 9% year-on-year to £24.5 million (€35 million)

Torrent Trackside reported first half profits of £1.7 million (€2.4 million), up from £1.3 million (€1.9 million) for the same six months in 2014, while revenues increased by 21% to £15.7 million (€22.4 million).

Meanwhile, TPA profits fell back to £0.9 million (€1.3 million) from £2 million (€2.9 million) for the six month period last year, as revenues reduced 21% year-on-year to £7.4 million (€10.6 million).

Airpac Bukom – which has significant exposure to the oil and gas exploration and development sector – reported a 25% year-on-year drop in revenues to £8.5 million (€12 million), while profits stood at £1 million (€1.4 million) compared to £1.7 million (€2.4 million) for the same six months in 2014.

The company invested £23.4 million (€33.4 million) in its fleet – broadly stable year-on-year.

After the reporting period, Vp acquired electrical instrumentation and environmental test equipment special Test and Measurement for £3.95 million (€5.6 million).

Vp chairman Jeremy Pilkington said, “This testing and calibration business will be operated as a new business stream within Hire Station by ESS Safeforce. Considerable synergies exist between the two businesses and we are very positive about the growth opportunities that this business will provide.”

Commenting on the six months results as a whole, he added, “Overall, this is a very satisfactory set of results particularly against the more subdued economic background witnessed during 2015. As we foresaw at the end of the last financial year, challenges have existed in both the oil and gas and transmission markets, but stable demand elsewhere has more than compensated.”

For the full-year, Vp said it saw opportunity across all divisional segments and believed it would deliver a very satisfactory result for the year as a whole.