(Alliance News) - Vp PLC on Tuesday said it is confident to deliver a full-year outcome in line with expectations, and it hired a new chief financial officer.

Vp is a Harrogate-based equipment rental firm.

For the six months that ended on September 30, Vp said revenue increased by 5.9% to GBP186.5 million from GBP176.1 million the year before. Pretax profit, however, slipped 3.8% to GBP17.9m from GBP18.6 million. Administrative expenses rose 15% to GBP23.4 million from GBP20.4 million the year before.

Vp said the UK division delivered a satisfactory performance driven by infrastructure and a resilient house building sector, with revenue reaching GBP166.9 million compared to GBP160.8 million a year before. In the International division, revenue increased by 28% to GBP19.6 million from GBP15.3 million.

Chair Jeremy Pilkington said: "I am pleased to report a solid set of results that reflect a period of continuing recovery and which demonstrate the enduring strength of our business and the maintenance of our industry leading returns."

Vp declared an interim dividend of 11 pence per share, up 4.8% from 10.5p a year prior.

Looking ahead, Vp said its current trading is in line with expectations.

Separately, Vp said Finance Director Allison Bainbridge will retire and step down from the board on December 31. Bainbridge will be succeeded by Anna Bielby, who will join as CFO on January 1 next year.

Bielby's other roles included being CFO of telecommunications firm KCOM Group, a former London listing, for a year from 2018 to 2019. Most recently, she was the interim CFO at car dealer Lookers PLC.

Shares were up 3.0% at 690.00 pence each on Tuesday in London.

By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com

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