Interior fittings firm Havelock Europa has said that actions to “rightsize” and simplify the business have delivered significant benefits and enabled its continued recovery during 2016.

Shares in Havelock rose by more than eight per cent on Wednesday after the shopfitting specialist revealed it has £21 million of orders in hand.

Havelock announced a major cost-cutting exercise in September last year, including the loss of 50 jobs, in a bid to save £3m on an annualised basis.

But the axe fell on another 50 jobs in November after the company missed out on renewing a key £14m contract with Lloyds Banking Group.

The firm now expects to report results for 2016 in line with market expectations, it said.

In a statement chief executive David Ritchie said: “The benefits that have accrued from the measures taken in late 2015 are clear throughout the company and have enabled the business to trade in line with market expectations, despite the increasingly challenging retail sector.

“In addition, we are encouraged by our current engagement with customers as we continue with our strategy of developing relationships with customers that value our wide range of services and, notwithstanding the challenging retail environment, the current order book for 2017 currently stands at £21m.”

Havelock will report its 2016 results on April 27.