The firm said today that its pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of June was £17.5 million, up from the £9.1m it posted a year earlier and driven by a 28 per cent rise in revenue in the half to £160.5m from £125.2m.

Now set to beat its expectations for the full year, the company said its trading performance in the first half was “strong”, with 4.5 million tonnes of aggregates sold, up from 3.6 million tonnes a year earlier. This was further boosted by a rise in asphalt sales, up to 0.9 million tonnes from 0.7 million, while it also sold 0.4 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete, up from 0.3 million.

Sales of materials soared to sites including the £750m Aberdeen Ring Road (AWPR), the new Jaguar Land Rover plant in the West Midlands and the Nottingham Tram project.

Breedon said the step-up in its capital investment plan is on track and added that several potential acquisition opportunities are under review.

“Trading during the first half was strong, with both the underlying business and recent acquisitions performing ahead of our expectations. March was a record month for the Group, with exceptional performances from both England and Scotland,” said executive chairman Peter Tom.

“Assuming that current trading conditions continue through the second half of 2015, we believe that market expectations for the year will be exceeded,” Tom added.