Results for the year to December 31 2019 show a 23.9% increase in pre-tax profit to £7.4m as turnover ticked-up 18.9% to £404.6m.

Nmcn ended the year with £25.8m cash in the bank and has now implemented a number of measures to minimise costs and maintain cash.

The company’s infrastructure work is deemed of critical national significance to the Covid-19 crisis so 70% of its work is ongoing.

Most of nmcn’s Building division sites have been temporarily stopped leading to some of the company’s 1,800 staff being furloughed.

Directors have also taken a 20% pay cut and senior managers 10%.

John Homer, chief executive officer of nmcn said: “The 2019 results reflected a strong underlying performance with good progress towards achieving the targets of our strategic plan and building a solid platform for further growth.

“The strength of our ongoing operations allowed us to continue to exercise rigour in the work that we chose to take on, whilst our talented people remained the overarching differentiator in delivering our strategy.

“After a year of much activity, including our first acquisition for many years and prudent balance sheet management, it’s allowed us to close the year with net cash of over £25 million.

“In the near-term we need collectively to focus on confronting the implications of Covid-19 and the commitment of our highly skilled and dedicated workforce will once again be a major factor in achieving this.

“We are confident of nmcn’s ability to navigate these unprecedented circumstances and to emerge as a strong contender in our chosen markets.

“We are closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation and strictly adhering to government guidelines whilst communicating and collaborating with our colleagues, our customers, our supply chain partners and other stakeholders.”