The firm said it could now see a recovery in demand by the end of 2014, but added it was also looking to diversify into new UK steelwork sectors.

Severfield this morning reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £4m, marking a significant turnaround from the underlying loss of £21.5m in the 15 months to 31 March 2013.

Turnover slipped to £231m compared to £318m last time over the longer reporting period.

The rebranded firm reported a good recovery in UK operating margins but also a share of losses from its Indian joint venture of £3m.

With UK operating margins returned to 3.3%, Severfield said it was target to restore them to 5-6% by 2015/16.

Ian Lawson, chief executive officer said that the £168m UK order book was solid and represented around 8 months of forward production capacity.

“There are signs that the market will pick up towards the end of 2014 but the current order book does not yet reflect this.

“During the financial year Severfield has achieved substantial operational improvements across the group.

“Pleasingly, the group’s ongoing stabilisation and recovery generated increasing UK operating margins supported by a strong balance sheet and solid order book.

“The UK in particular may involve looking for new market areas where the business has not operated in the past as well as growing market share in areas where the business already operates.”

He added: “While our Indian joint venture performed below expectations, actions are being taken to put the business in a sustainable position and we believe the market in India continues to present significant future growth opportunities.”