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Six West Midlands companies have been named among the top ten most profitable in the region. Energy giant E.ON and engineering business GKN secured spots on the Profit 50 report compiled by Midlands Business Insider.

Coventry-based E.ON, which last week announced plans to shed up to 500 Midlands jobs, has soared to the top spot of Midlands Business Insider's Profit 50 report.

The table, which lists the region's best-performing companies, puts E.ON at the top after it secured £808m in pre-tax profits. The company has improved on its 2009/10 performance after it finished in second place.

Engineering company GKN secured £345m in pre-tax profit, placing it in third spot. The Worcestershire-based business, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has recently completed the acquisition of German company Stromag Holding. GKN failed to make the Profit 50 last year.

Fellow engineering business IMI, based in Birmingham, reclaimed its 2008/09 spot at number four after dropping four places to eighth last year. The company reported pre-tax profits of £306.1m in 2010/11.

Bourneville-based chocolatier Cadbury UK hit the number seven spot with £161.2m in pre-tax profits recorded.

Mike Steventon, senior partner of accountancy firm KPMG in Birmingham, said the results showed a "mixed picture", with no one sector dominating the chart.

He said: "Local businesses have been faced with a challenging economic backdrop in recent years and the past 12 months has been a really mixed picture with growth in some sectors and contraction in others.

"Undoubtedly businesses operating within sectors that have been hardest hit, such as construction, are likely to have seen their profitability fall – in some circumstances, substantially – but there will also be others such as our exporting manufacturers who are achieving growth in revenue and profitability."

Also in the top ten this year were Wolverhampton's Carillion, which placed at number six, and Redditch-based Halfords at number ten. Despite experiencing a drop in pre-tax profits in its latest results, Carillion clung on to a top-ten placing after securing a total of £167.9m pre-tax profit in its latest report.

Retailer Halfords bucked the high street's malaise trend by posting profits of £118.1m in its latest results.

Steventon said: "Midlands businesses will also be following a similar strategy to ensure they survive and are ready to take advantage of growth opportunities when the upturn comes. As a result, basics such as implementing efficiency and working capital reduction programmes, as well as seeking access to the growth markets of the BRIC countries, is high on their agenda.

"Crucially however, the global outlook is looking more challenging and local businesses, many of whom have benefitted from exporting partly aided by weak Sterling, will need to keep a careful eye on developments and strike a balance between seeking growth opportunities and ensuring they can quickly respond to falling demand if growth falters."

East Midlands companies Next, Travis Perkins, Lafarge Cement and Eco Bat Technologies also featured in the top ten.

The complete Profit 50 list, which was sponsored by acountancy firm PwC, can be found in the October issue of Midlands Business Insider.