10th Sep 2013 10:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Amiad Water Systems Ltd Tuesday said its half-year pretax profit dipped thanks to a fall in revenue caused by a slowdown in its municipal and industrial divisions in Europe and the US.
Amiad, which provides filtration products to clean water for drinking, industry and irrigation, said it made a USD4.2 million pretax profit in the six months to June 30, down 16% compared with USD5 million a year earlier as revenues fell 6.8% to USD61.7 million, from USD66.2 million.
Margins declined as it earned proportionally more from its lower-margin irrigation business, it spent money to enter the Colombian gas and oil market, fixed costs rose, and the US dollar weakened against the Israeli shekel.
"Despite the challenging market conditions, we anticipate that revenues for the second half of 2013 will be slightly higher than for the first half of the year. In addition, we expect to maintain efficiency measures and tight cost control over the course of 2013 whilst continuing to invest in new products, new territories and growth segments," Arik Dayan, chief executive, said in a statement.
Amiad said revenues in the first half were hit by weakness in its industrial segment, particularly in South East Asia, India and East Europe, though its new business area of oil & gas saw significant growth.
Amiad declared an interim dividend of USD0.051 per share, unchanged from last year's.
Amiad shares were Tuesday quoted at 312 pence, down 14.50 pence, or 4.44%.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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