Hercules Site Services PLC (AIM:HERC)'s revenues jumped by 85% in its latest half-year as work on the northern section of the HS2 high-speed rail development ramped up another notch.
Workers supplied to HS2 rose to 400 from 180 at the end of March 2022, said the construction sector recruiter, with that total likely to increase again in the second half of the year.
In addition, Hercules said it is now supplying labour to Taylor Woodrow at the Exxon-Mobil oil refinery expansion in Fawley, near Southampton while it has picked up new contracts with Amey and SGN.
That should mean growth continuing in the second half of the year, it added, especially in labour supply and suction excavator services.
The civil projects team has also seen a "huge level" of demand for new infrastructure in the water treatment sector, with a 30% increase in revenue and new clients including Amey and SGN.
Over the six months to end March 2023, revenue rose to £37mln (£19.9mln) and underlying profits [adjusted EBITDA] by 83% to £1.1mln, with interim pre-tax losses cut to £246,000 (£383,000).
Brusk Korkmaz, chief executive, added that the improvement reflected the continued labour supply services ramp-up at the HS2 northern section and the new clients.
"We are also very pleased to see that our Skills, Employment and Education Everything Portal has become revenue generating, demonstrating again that we are at the cutting edge of labour supply and services innovation in the construction sector.
"With this strong momentum in the construction and infrastructure sectors and a solid pipeline of new clients, we are ideally placed to maintain the levels of growth we have delivered in recent years and are on track to meet market expectations for the full year."
The interim dividend is maintained at 0.6p.