Following losses of £225 million in 2020 and £229m the previous year, the infrastructure and construction group posted pre-tax profits of £5.6 million for the year to the end of June.

Its turnover fell slightly to £3.3 billion, from £3.5bn in 2019-20, with the figure reflecting the impact of the Covid pandemic, the company’s completion of several motorway upgrade projects and its withdrawal from “noncore and loss-making contracts”.

Chief executive Andrew Davies said: “The group delivered a strong operational performance and materially improved results in FY21. We have completed the strategic actions set out in 2019 to simplify and focus the group, improve cash generation and strengthen our balance sheet.

“The successful capital raise, the recent sale of Kier Living, and the extension of the group’s RCF facility provides Kier with the financial and operational flexibility to continue to pursue its strategic objectives within its chosen markets and will allow it to further enhance and capitalise on its position as a strategic partner to its customers.

“Current trading is in line with our expectations, and despite inflationary pressures and the impact of increased national insurance contributions, our outlook for the current year remains unchanged. We are now focused on delivering our medium term value creation plan by leveraging our attractive market positions, delivering our high-quality order book and fostering our long-term customer relationships and sector expertise.”