The results, released this morning, reveal NFI of £36.5m, up from £36m, with revenue up from £305.3m to £322.3m on H1 2018.

In the UK, a 4% increase in NFI for the group’s engineering division was offset by a 13% decline in NFI for its technology division. But the group’s international operations saw NFI increase 15% year-on-year with continued growth in the Americas (up 6%) and double-digit growth for its restructured offices in China and South Africa.

Commenting on the group’s performance, CEO Kevin Freeguard said: “The first half of FY19 has been a period of progress for the group… Our core UK engineering business delivered continued growth and the restructuring work we undertook in our UK technology operations in Q1 has begun to feed through into an improved year-on-year operating contribution. Our restructured and refocused international operations continued to grow strongly and we are pleased with our progress in reducing net debt.

“Building on the fundamental strengths of the business, our improvement plan is now underway and is focusing on the levers for growth, refining sales and market effectiveness, aligning operations to further enhance our delivery capability and innovating to extend our range of market solutions. I am confident that as we continue to execute the plan it will position the company well for the future.”

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