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Van Elle Holdings PLC shares sank on Thursday as it said it expects its UK operations to perform ‘slightly below’ expectations in 2025. The Nottinghamshire, England-based ground engineering contractor said despite its ‘strong order book’, the trading environment and volumes were suppressed throughout January and February. It expects underlying profit before tax for the six months to the end of April to be similar to the first half. In the first half of financial 2025 underlying pretax profit was £2.1 million, down 16% from £2.5 million in the prior year. Underlying pretax profit was £5.6 million for the 2024 financial year in total, compared to £4.2 million now expected for financial 2025. Shares in Van Elle were down 9.9% to 34.69 pence in London on Thursday afternoon. It said it has experienced ‘widespread project delays’ with more than 40 projects in the approvals process. The majority are now expected to begin in the 2026 financial year, beginning May 1. Van Elle said its Canadian business has experienced further delays to its work as a strategic supply partner to the Toronto rail network infrastructure upgrade programme. ‘With the near-term uncertainty around the timing of key investment programmes, the board is reviewing its strategic options with respect to its operations in Canada,’ Van Elle said. The company said its trading performance will be ‘weaker than initially anticipated’ due to the trading performance of Rock & Alluvium and Canada. Van Elle said there is an ‘acute focus’ on working capital management due to the trading pressures it is facing. It has secured ‘several large projects’ in the General Piling division to be delivered in early financial 2026. ‘In addition, scheduled workloads across March and April represent an increase in volumes, providing encouraging momentum into the new financial year,’ Van Elle said. The company said it ‘remains optimistic’ on its prospects for financial 2026 but recognises that the pace of recovery ‘may be slower than previously expected’. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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