Vp plc has issued a trading update for the 10 months ended 31st January 2026, reporting 鈥榤arket headwinds鈥� in construction and water.
Construction鈥檚 'return to work' in January was 鈥榙isappointingly muted鈥� and AMP8 investment from water companies has been off to a slow start, Vp said.
鈥� We remain positive about prospects in water and confident in our ability to take advantage of the significant increase in expenditure to come in AMP8,鈥� the company said. 鈥淗owever, while we have seen an uptick in design and planning work, we now expect to see meaningful increases in water revenues in FY27 rather than the current financial year. General construction remains subdued, with follow-on implications for activity levels across several Vp businesses.
It has therefore reduced profit expectations for the year to March 2026 to the range of 拢26-29m before tax, amortisation and exceptional items. Adjusted profit for the first six months of the financial year was 拢17m.
Actions being taken to address the trading difficulties include, as previously reported, closing most of its Brandon Hire Station tool stores 鈥撀爎educing branch footprint from more than 100 to just 41 鈥撀燼nd laying off 400 staff in the process.
Vp has also sold its entire fleet of 856 pile cropping machines but so far聽has refused to comment publicly on this transaction. Vp acquired Mr Cropper for 拢4.6m in 2013 but has now sold its assets to Aska Rodgers.
Alice Woodwark, who took over from Anna Bielby as chief executive of Vp just this month, said: "Vp remains committed to its strategy of offering a diversified range of specialist equipment and expertise to clients across a portfolio of critical market sectors. While this diversity and breadth gives our business market-leading resilience and opportunity, it is not immune to general trading conditions in construction and delays to major infrastructure programme spend in key sectors. Our progress in transforming Brandon, which is on track for completion within the financial year, and our commitment to a strategy of growth and operational excellence position us well to take advantage of future opportunities across our markets."
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
