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Drinks and vending tech specialist Vianet has returned to pre-tax profit and is now trading at pre-pandemic levels, its boss says.

New results for the Stockton firm show revenue increased 6.7% to £14.1m as pre-tax profit of £450,000 was reported, compared with a £170,000 loss last year. Across its bar management systems business, Smart Zones, Vianet said new new contract wins contributed to its recovery.

In its Smart Machines division - which supplies contactless and telemetry-enabled vending - around 11,000 new devices were added to its portfolio, despite, Vianet said, the vending sector being distracted with planning related to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ-wide 3G switch-off. That meant divisional operating profit increased 10.4% to £2.01m.

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James Dickson, chairman of Vianet, said the performance of the two divisions indicated the firm had "weathered the storm" of the pandemic and was now poised for growth.

He said: "I am pleased to report that the proactive measures we implemented over the past few years together with the dedication and hard work of our staff have yielded excellent results. The business has recovered strongly and is now performing in line with pre-pandemic levels.

"During the year we focused on new initiatives to ensure that customer relationships were maintained, along with new connections delivering recurring revenue growth over the period. Although pressures on global semi-conductor supply chains and uncertainty from the conflict in Ukraine remain, we are confident that our sales will continue to grow, moving towards higher profits and wider markets.

"Our focus over the last year has been on prudent cash management, a further strengthening of our relations with customers and strategic investment in sales and technology. These efforts now place the company on a sound footing and will enable us to scale sustainable growth in both existing and new vertical markets."