Hire firm sees profits rise nearly 20%

UK: HVAC hire company Andrews Sykes has announced a sales increase of 8.9% to £65.4m for the year ended 31 December 2016.

The operating profit showed greater improvement, increasing by 19.7%, from £13.2m in 2015 to £15.8m in 2016. According to Andrews Sykes, the increase, which follows a 16.8% increase in 2015, reflects strong performances from both its hire and sales businesses in the UK and Europe and the Middle East.

Andrews Sykes admits that the relatively weak pound was a contributory factor behind the increase, but maintains that the underlying trading performance of its overseas subsidiaries showed a significant improvement compared to last year.