Maxi Haulage saw another year of strong growth with pre-tax profit up 14% to £1.61m in the financial year ending to September 2015.

The Irvine-based haulage company, which a subsidiary Maxi Caledonian, saw its turnover climb 7% to £55.9m in the period compared with £52.1m the previous year.

Maxi Haulage, which operates 160 trucks and around 600 trailers, noted in its accounts that although it had grown significantly during the past few years its profit margin had come under pressure.

It said it is redressing the problem by “eliminating work that has become unprofitable and further expanding the business with profitable work”.

The company said it was also taking steps to address the driver shortage problem “which is still problematical,” by improving driver retention “significantly”.

The company is continuing to invest significantly in new trucks and trailers “to provide it with a modern enlarged fleet which has allowed our further growth which is continuing into the next period.”

In 2014 it invested £2.3m on fleet expansion and replacement along with a further £3.3m on its new depot in Warwick.

The company also attributed its growth to its ability to retain its existing contracts as well as winning a number of new contracts in the year, adding that its new depot in Warwick had added capacity and allowed it to grow in the region.