30th Jul 2015 08:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - Energy consultancy RPS Group PLC on Thursday said its pretax profit fell in the first half of 2015 thanks to the slowdown in the oil and gas industry, but said revenue increased as it managed to offset those problems in the rest of its business.
RPS said its pretax profit fell to GBP17.9 million from GBP21.7 million a year earlier, nearly entirely related to the slowdown in activity in the oil and gas industry, where companies have been slashing spending plans in response to the collapse in world oil prices over the past year.
Revenue for the group, however, increased to GBP284.1 million from GBP279.4 million, primarily thanks to a good performance from its BNE arm, which advises on infrastructure development. Fee income for the group increased in the half to GBP253.4 million from GBP248.6 million.
RPS said it will pay an interim dividend of 4.66 pence per share, up from 4.05p a year earlier.
Chief Executive Brook Land said the company's diverse operations offset the challenges posted by the oil and gas industry and said it intends to make further acquisitions in the coming year, following on from the acquisition of Norwegian project management consultancy Metier in April.
RPS shares were down 3.7% to 212.19 pence on Thursday morning.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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