Severfield plc, the Thirsk, North Yorkshire-based steel group, said its revenue rose 20% to £234.9 million “reflecting increased activity and steel prices” and underlying profit before tax soared 17% to £12.1 million in the six months to September 24, 2022.

Severfield reported a diversified UK and Europe order book of £464 million at November 1, 2022, and an India order book of £143 million.

Interim dividend is increased by 8% to 1.3p per share.

Severfield CEO Alan Dunsmore said: “The group has delivered a strong performance in the first six months of the year against a difficult macroeconomic backdrop.

“Our high quality order book reflects our significant market sector, geographical and client diversification and provides us with good earnings visibility.

“Our new simplified divisional structure in the UK and Europe, with our three divisions: Commercial and Industrial, Nuclear and Infrastructure, and Products and Processing, continues the evolution of our strategy and builds on the momentum generated from the operational improvement initiatives that have been put in place over the last eight years.

“Our Indian business continues to see strong demand for structural steel and we are ramping up the production at our Bellary facility towards its maximum capacity of c.100,000 tonnes while also looking to identify another plot of land to facilitate the future expansion of the business.

“The resilient order book, combined with our strong balance sheet and simplified divisional structure, gives us confidence in the future performance of the business and so we are maintaining our expectations for FY23.”