Vp’s upbeat outlook

7 April 2021

Vp is another hire business whose performance has not been impacted anything like as severely as might have been imagined when the first lockdown was announced a year ago.

Also significant is that, as so many hirers have been telling me recently, the business is investing in its fleet.

In an update today on trading since its interim results on 7 December, the group states that revenues have now recovered to 95% of pre-Covid levels.

The Board says Vp has traded in line with expectations and that its core markets of infrastructure, construction and housebuilding have been positive over recent months.

During the year, debt has reduced by 22% from £160m at 1 April 2020 to £124m at 31 March 2021.

Vp chief executive Neil Stothard said: "As we have seen specific markets pick up, we have started to invest again in new equipment to meet demand as the latent capacity of the fleet has been drawn back into productive use.  

“The timing of some of this investment has been accelerated due to hopefully short term supply chain challenges for certain products, relating to both Covid-19 and Brexit disruptions.

"As we enter the new financial year, we are pleased to see revenues returning to 95% of pre-Covid levels and this despite some sectors, such as events and hospitality, remaining closed, infrastructure programmes (such as AMP7 [water industry asset management] and CP6 [Network Rail]) not yet fully up to speed and confidence in the general construction market improving but still not fully recovered to pre-Covid levels,” he said.

Vp’s Brandon Hire Station business recently invested in more Thwaites dumpers for its depot network, as reported on the blog.