In the year to December, Emcor’s UK operations achieved an underlying profit before tax of £11.7m slightly ahead of £11.2m last  year.

This was achieved despite a 7.2% fall in turnover to £298m, due to reduced activity in the construction sector, which was mostly offset by strong growth from its facilities management division.

The firms strategic withdrawl from the rail sector also contributed to the slight fall in revenue.

The UK operations of the big US building services contractor now accounts for around 9% of total group revenues.

The latest report and accounts also showed a significantly stronger balance sheet with shareholders’ funds increasing by £11.1m over the period.

Keith Chanter, CEO at Emcor Group (UK), said: “Even though our marketplace and the economy continue to be challenging, these results show that by building excellent relationships with our customers and maintaining prudent financial management, it’s  possible to deliver real value improvements to both customers and shareholders alike.”

Emcor UK expects the outlook for this year to be broadly positive despite the relatively low growth prospects for the economy.

The report and accounts also show a one time gain of £4.4m, arising from the restructuring of retirement benefits agreed by all members last May.