The Crossrail contracts softened the blow of Olympic work winding-down and helped Speedy post a pre-tax profit of £4.8m for the six months to September 30 2011 compared to a £9.9m loss last time.
Speedy said all of its UK hire operations were now profitable following the sale of its loss-making accommodation business earlier this year.
Turnover was also up to £158.9m from £155.6m and the firm said: “The improvement in trading performance continues to be driven by the recovery in our UK & Ireland business.”
Speedy added: “Growth is coming from a mixture of existing framework agreements with companies such as Welsh Water and Thames Water; a number of contract extensions including those with United Utilities and South East Water; and new business such as the contract with Enserve.
“Many of the existing major construction customers operate across all of these markets and additional revenue growth is targeted from them.
“Whilst activity at the Olympic site has peaked, the performance of the business remains strong.
“In anticipation of progressive reduction in demand from the site, the operational team has started to see the benefit of its shift in focus to London Crossrail, where once again, existing agreements with the UK’s leading contractors, such as Carillion and BAM Group, position us well on this major project with some early successes already delivered.”
Chairman Ishbel Macpherson said: “We are pleased to report the continuation of our recovery in these challenging times.
“Our strategy of aligning ourselves with stronger customers and market segments, focusing on our core activities and driving improved efficiency is ongoing.
“As a result, the Board is confident of the Group meeting its expectations for the financial year. “