Ground engineering contractor Van Elle expects to see dips in revenue and pre-tax profit for the last financial year but has identified cost saving measures that include headcount reductions.
In a recent trading update, Van Elle said it plans to announce its results for the year ended 30 April 2024 in the second half of July.
It expects these results to show that group revenue is down 6% at £140M, compared to the previous financial year when the company reported record revenues of £148.7M.
The turnover also includes five months of contribution from Rock & Alluvium. Van Elle completed the acquisition of the piling business from Galliford Try in November 2023.
Van Elle expects its pre-tax profit to decrease by 7% to £5M, which still aligns with market expectations.
For the first six months to the end of October 2023, Van Elle witnessed a 16% fall in revenue and a pre-tax profit drop from £3.5M to £2.5M, compared to the same period in 2022.
As cost saving measures, Van Elle has now said it would reduce its headcount and focus on efficiency projects.
According to Van Elle, the results reflect “the impact of prevailing market conditions, with the housing and infrastructure sectors being impacted by lower levels of demand and delays”.
It expects the sectors to recover “in the near term”, although there is still uncertainty regarding timings.
Van Elle said it has also developed a strong position in the water and energy sectors.
It will start work on its first major energy transmission scheme soon, while continuing to design modular foundation solutions ahead of the Asset Management Plan 8 (AMP8) in the water sector.
The company is also part of Network Rail’s Control Period 7 (CP7) civil and geotechnical programme and the Coal Authority’s national ground investigation services frameworks.
In Canada, the contractor has been appointed as a strategic partner on the Toronto region expansion programme.
At the end of March, Van Elle’s order book stood at £36.8M.