Interserve sees revenues surge past £1bn mark
FTSE 250-listed Interserve yesterday unveiled a 7.6 per cent jump in first-half profit and an 8.6 per cent rise in revenue, boosted by a strong performance in its UK support services division.
The global support services and construction group posted headline pre-tax profit of £36.8m and consolidated revenue of £1.07bn for the six months ended 30 June. It is increasing its dividend from 6.4p per share to 6.8p per share.
“We achieved record revenues and a record order book in the first half of the year,” chief executive Adrian Ringrose told City A.M. “We are particularly pleased with our UK support services business. There was a more muted performance in Europe, as you would expect [given the economic downturn] and also in Australia.”
However, Interserve’s international construction division posted a seven per cent decline in revenues to £96.5m, mainly due to the construction downturn in the Gulf, which is Interserve’s largest non-UK market.
The firm won over £1.5bn of new contracts over the first half of the year, including three NHS Trusts in and around Leicester and the Haymarket development in Edinburgh. That excludes a new £110m contract with the Ministry of Defence which was announced yesterday.
Interserve has £250m in debt facilities to use for organic or inorganic growth and has not ruled out more acquisitions in the near future. Ringrose would not comment on any potential deals but said that any acquisitions in the Gulf would more likely be in the support services field rather than construction.
Interserve shares closed 3.9 per cent higher at 556p.