5th Aug 2014 07:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aggreko PLC Tuesday said pretax profit fell in the first half of 2014, and it continues to expect full-year underlying trading profit to be similar to last year, as revenue growth was offset by currency headwinds.
The temporary power company said its pretax profit fell 9% to GBP132 million for the six months ended June 30 from GBP146 million the previous year.
The company said its revenues were up 1% to GBP768 million from GBP760 million due to strong growth in its Europe, Middle East and Africa and Americas operations, and the company saw an underlying revenue increase of 12%, which doesn't include currency movements and pass-through fuel costs.
It added that it saw double digit growth in its Local business on an underlying level, with FIFA World Cup and Commonwealth Games contracts executed successfully.
Aggreko increased its interim dividend by 3.0% to 9.38 pence from 9.11 pence the previous year.
However, Aggreko said it was hit by movements in exchange rates against a strong pound. The company said its largest currency impact on revenue came from the dollar followed by the Argentinean peso and then the Australian dollar and Brazilian real.
It said that currency impacts gave rise to a USD24 million decrease in net assets during the half and helped push its cost of sales up 7% to GBP334 million.
In its first quarter, the company saw mixed results, with strong underlying revenue growth in two of its three regions being impacted by adverse currency movements, as previously expected.
The company announced in March that its pretax profit and revenues largely met expectations in 2013, as both fell in comparison to 2012 when the London Olympics provided the company with strong figures.
The company said on Tuesday that it expects to deliver growth and strong cash generation in the second half of 2014, with underlying trading profit for the full year to be similar to 2013.
The news comes after Aggreko said in May that Chris Weston, the head of Centrica PLC's British Gas, would be taking up the role of chief executive next year with Angus Cockburn continuing his role as interim chief executive officer in the short term, before stepping down from the group later in the year.
The news came after Serco Group PLC poached Aggreko's former chief executive, Rupert Soames, in February in order to help revive its struggling business.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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