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Engineering and technical recruitment group RTC booked a slight fall in first-half profit while trading was 'constrained' by the pandemic.
Pre-tax profit for the six months through June inched down to £0.16 million, from £0.23 million year-on-year, as revenue inched up to £40.5 million, from £39.9 million.
RTC declared no interim dividend and said it didn't intend to pay a dividend for the second half either.
'The first half of 2021 has been navigated satisfactorily in the continuing environment of the current pandemic,' chairman Bill Douie said.
'Although the wave which commenced in September/October 2020 did not reach a peak until part way through the first quarter, the general economic environment remained very constrained and much of our business continued to be materially adversely affected.'
'Happily, our strong emphasis on infrastructure generally, and railway, which has continued to perform at levels much as in 2020, was aided by early signs of recovery in branch UK recruitment and has made the profitable result for the period possible.'
'Although there is still not a positive environment for the Derby Conference Centre and Hotel, our international staffing solutions business has continued at profitable levels.'
'During the first six months more positive news on the vaccine roll-out has raised hopes of a period of recovery with a slow and bumpy return to improved profitability.'
'However, there are additional head winds which present challenges for the immediate future and beyond.'