ENGINEERING group VT has said it is increasingly focusing on its expanding support services division as it continues to diversify away from shipbuilding.
In a trading update ahead of its May results, Hedge End-based VT, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft, said the division had seen "solid growth" through a series of new orders and expansion of existing contracts.
The support services division helped VT boost pre-tax profits by 13 per cent to £22.6m in the first half of the year to November.
However, the company said its traditional shipbuilding business, which employs 650 people in a state-of-the-art facility in Portsmouth, was performing well despite uncertainty surrounding the industry.
It is building parts for the Royal Navy's new fleet of Type-45 destroyers and said it should deliver the first bow section for the six initial ships in the order in June.
It has also won a contract to build a new 80-metre offshore patrol vessel and provide back-up services for the ship to the MoD for five years, with production beginning in June.
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