Profit margins came under pressure, particularly at the group’s main O’Halloran & O’Brien grounbdworks and concrete frame business.

But a small uptick in profits from the group’s small house builder Riverdale Development helped group pre-tax profit to £20m, largely in line with the past few years.

Established 51 years ago, the privately owned contractor now in the sole ownership of Tom O’Brien has evolved from a small groundworks company to a multi disciplined major contractor.

The main groundwork and concrete operation O’Halloran & O’Brien saw profits fall by a fifth to £8.7m, while its B&T Plant Hire deliverd another successful year with profits steady at £4.6m and housing development profits up at £5.4m.

OHOB Group Chair O’Brien said: “We live in uncertain times where profit margins have become even more difficult with investment confidence, so caution remain the order of the day previously unseen price increases and trade shortages and we have the added challenges of the geo-polictical climate, inflation concerns and interest rate increases likely to dampen investment confidence so caution remains the order of the day.

“However as we enter our sixth decade of successful trading we are confident that the strength of the group.”

Cash at bank improved rising to nearly £80m.

Over the year average headcount almost doubled to 213 as nearly 100 extra construction workers were brought on the books.