Hill & Smith (HILS) delivered a positive trading assessment of the first half of 2021. Reported earnings came up short of the H1 2020 comparator due to an increased tax charge, but reported profitability was on the rise, albeit against a problematic trading period last year.
Underlying operating profit for the period came in at £42.5m (2020: £26.8m), while the associated margin increased by 350 basis points to 12 per cent. Perhaps the most illuminating feature was that the infrastructure group registered 6 per cent revenue and 9 per cent profit growth on an organic constant currency basis compared with H1 2019.