14th Sep 2022 10:54
(Alliance News) - Ricardo PLC on Wednesday reported a "strong" annual order intake in line with expectations, as it lifted its payout by 52%.
For the year that ended on June 30, the environmental and engineering consultancy said pretax profit surged to GBP13.3 million from GBP3.9 million the year before, as revenue increased by 10% to GBP387.3 million from GBP351.8 million.
Order intake rose by 23% to GBP432.2 million from GBP352.0 million, driven by "accelerating environmental trends and key programmes", Ricardo noted.
Order book amounted to GBP343.6 million, up 17% from GBP293.5 million the year before.
The company's Energy & Environment division reported a growth of 16% in order intake to GBP74.1 million from GBP64.1 million the year before, as a result of its sustainability portfolio and the "geographic expansion into key territories", it said.
Chief Executive Officer Graham Ritchie said: "We continue to see strong momentum in our priority markets, underpinned by environmental and energy transition trends. The macroeconomic outlook around the world is challenging. Nevertheless, as we enter [financial 2023] with a strong order book, I am confident that we are well-prepared to deliver our expectations despite the uncertainty in the short-term."
Ricardo added that trading for financial 2022 has been in line with management's expectations.
Ricardo declared a final dividend of 7.49 pence per share, up 47% from 5.11p the year prior. This brings the total dividend to 10.40p, up 52% from 6.86p.
Shares were up 0.5% at 438.32 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
By Xindi Wei; [email protected]
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