Cruden Investments, the construction and housebuilding group, achieved a 13% rise in turnover last year but failed to increase profits as margins remained under pressure.

Turnover climbed from £150 million to £169m, while both operating and pre-tax profit were static at around £5.8m, according to accounts at Companies House.

The Edinburgh-based holding company of the charitable Cruden Foundation is a big player in public sector construction and refurbishment, builds for the medical and educational sectors, and develops housing under its own brand and through joint ventures.

It is also part of the consortium building the athletes' village for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Its construction activity was up in value by 12% to £133m, while the number of homes sold fell sharply from 108 to 63, due to a shrinkage in sales outlets during the year, of which 10 sales were through the joint ventures (down from 14).

However the average sale value improved from £143,000 to £161,000 thanks to a bigger proportion of higher-end units in the mix.

The rise in activity saw employment across the group rise from 626 to 658.

The directors, reiterating exactly their comments of 12 months ago, wrote: "The group's forward order book in construction for external clients is encouraging and should allow for similar levels of activity in future periods.

"The group has exercised restraint in its residential development programme as is consequently well-placed to re-enter the market as conditions improve."

They say a "year of solid trading in a challenging economic environment" has driven an increase from £26m to £29.3m in net asset value and the creation of a stable platform for the future.

The accounts show net funds of £30m, up from £28.3m. The company has maintained its dividend pay-out to the foundation at £1.05m. The highest-paid director's remuneration eased from £578,970 to £573,994.

Cruden is one of five smaller housebuilders who signed up at the end of May for the Scottish Government's MI New Home scheme, more than doubling the number of builders involved.

The mortgage indemnity backed by builders and the government allows borrowers with as little as a 5% deposit to buy a new-build home up to £250,000, and is not restricted to first-time buyers.

The group has 17 developments with homes for sale, spanning Glasgow, Edinburgh, West Lothian, Midlothian, Falkirk, Stirling and the Borders. It was home builder of the year in the 2012 Homes for Scotland Awards.