Alan Dunsmore, Severfield chief executive officer, said despite material price and labour supply challenges the order book gave the firm good visibility through to the full year 2023.

The growth in the order book was driven by the new stadium for Everton FC, two large and various smaller distribution facilities in the UK, a waste-to-energy facility, new HS2 bridge packages and other bridge awards reflecting investment in infrastructure by Highways England and Network Rail.

He said tendering activity in UK and Europe remained very encouraging and with the firm’s pipeline of opportunities spanning a wide range of sectors demonstrating the benefits of both the strategic acquisitions and the organic investments we have made in recent years.

Pre-tax profit was up 20% to £7.9m from revenue up 5% to £195.9m in first half trading.

Dunsmore said: “We are making strong progress in our Indian business and are well-placed to capitalise on this exciting market opportunity as the economy recovers from the pandemic and construction continues to transition from concrete to steel.

“We continue to be mindful of industry-wide supply chain pressures for both us and our clients which are, in some instances, impacting material costs and availability.

“This includes certain steel products, in part reflecting a price of steel which, although stabilising recently, has nearly doubled over the past year.

“While not immune to this, the impact has been managed without any significant disruption to operations, and the group is managing these pressures through contractual protection, operating efficiencies and by forward purchasing as appropriate, leveraging the roup’s scale and supply chain and subcontract management strengths.”