The hirer said that the reported pre-tax loss of £9.8m compared with a £14.1m loss in the first half of 2015 was due to exceptional costs associated with its recovery strategy.
Revenue growth of 13.5% to £166m was driven by strong gains in existing and new key accounts.
Investment in a new National Distribution and Engineering Centre remained on track for completion later this year enabling further optimisation of the existing network and reduction in distribution centres, said John Gill, chief executive officer.
But this investment and new fleet spending lifted net debt by £21m to £239m.
Gill said: “I’m pleased to report strong revenue and underlying profit growth in the first half of the year reflecting the positive impacts of our revised strategy.
“Customers are increasingly seeing HSS as a single source provider of tools, equipment and related services and our trading growth reflects this.
“Our focus on capital and operational efficiency shows through in our utilisation rates and our EBITA margin, both of which have continued to improve through Q2 16.
“We are confident our new National Distribution and Engineering Centre will position us well for scale and volume growth and, combined with our e-commerce platform and national branch footprint, will further enhance our customer proposition by transforming availability within our sector.”