Civils specialist Applebridge Construction has grown both turnover and profit by a third despite slashing its headcount.
The Middlesbrough-based contractor posted income of £82.9m for the year to 30 April 2024, up 33 per cent on the previous year.
Meanwhile, the firm’s pre-tax profit soared by 34 per cent over the same timeframe to £7.2m.
But the firm’s average number of monthly employees fell from 168 in the year to the end of April 2023 to just 122 in the most recent spell.
Applebridge attributed its strong performance to new relationships with housing associations in the North East and “controlled growth” in its multi-utility division.
Repeat business accounted for about four-fifths of the company’s turnover in the latest year, it said.
The firm’s pre-tax profit margin remained consistent with the previous period after it “managed to carefully control the rising costs of wages, materials and overheads”.
Despite the drop in headcount, costs of employment rose 5 per cent to £2.9m.
The firm had net assets of £14.8m at the end of April 2024, up from £10.8m a year earlier.
Applebridge said its cash position “continues to improve through operating profits, careful overhead cost control and prompt cash recovery”.
It added that it had achieved three strategic goals in the latest year: rebalancing its turnover split between speculative and social house building; targeting multi-utility contracts; and achieving tier one status with Virgin Media.
The firm said it had continued to invest “heavily” in plant, technology and training with a focus on worker wellbeing.
Directors said the company was “well placed” to see out a “challenging environment” it expected to last into next year. Inflation remained elevated, it warned, and the cost of debt was “still predicted to be high”.
The contractor was one of 33 firms selected by Northumbrian Water this year for an 11-lot framework to be used on the utility giant’s asset management period 8 capital investment programme.
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Greg Pitcher