Van Elle boosted by 'more supportive' construction market in second quarter

(Sharecast News) - Geotechnical engineer Van Elle has seen a "more supportive" construction market during the second quarter of its trading year, with new contract starts progressively gaining momentum.Van Elle, which had warned of a "relatively quiet" first quarter at the time of its full-year results back in July, now expects to report a first-half turnover of roughly £43m.However, the AIM-listed outfit said this figure would still be a reduction on its last trading year as a result of a strong comparative of £52.6m.Pre-tax profits were tapped to be almost halved at £2.8m as a result of the "subdued activity levels in the first quarter".Van Elle did note that gross margins had continued to improve over the period.Net debt was cut 5% to £5.6m as the group's order book at 31 October moved 16% ahead of last year at £32m.Chief executive Mark Cutler, said: "It is pleasing to see momentum building into the third quarter with growing demand for our specialist services and a strong order book providing good forward visibility.""The group is well placed to benefit from the significant opportunities we see in the second half and beyond."As of 0940 GMT, Van Elle shares had dropped 4.97% to 76.50p.