30th Oct 2014 07:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - RPS Group PLC Thursday said it will again increase its full year dividend by 15%, after saying it is on track to report good growth for 2014 on a constant currency basis, while investments in its international platform are providing "significant" growth opportunities.
In a statement, the energy and environmental consultancy did caution that currency volatility and the uncertainty affecting the oil and gas sector make it difficult to predict the full-year result with precision, but trading so far in 2014 suggests it is on track to achieve market expectations.
It added that the GBP31 million it has committed to acquisitions since the end of June and the GBP32 million of investments committed in the first half of the year "should" help it deliver a good performance in 2015 too.
RPS said its energy business saw clients start to manage spending more tightly in the second quarter and this continued into the third quarter. It was also affected by the political disruption in the Middle East, which also caused clients to delay investment, particularly in Kurdistan and Iraq.
"We continued to benefit from our excellent reputation and prominent position in the oil and gas sector in many parts of the world and also experienced good demand for our transaction support and asset valuation advice," it added.
RPS said it was also continuing to reduce costs in Australia as mining clients there remain focused on operational efficiency rather than capital expenditure on new projects. A number of projects have been delayed or cancelled, with this trend continuing into the second half, it said.
It said its built and natural environment unit is trading well and will be buoyed by recent acquisitions like CgMs and GaiaTech.
"Throughout 2014 we have been impacted by factors outside our control, particularly the strength of sterling, significantly reduced investment in the resources markets and unrest in the Middle East," Chairman Brook Land said in a statement.
"Nonetheless, we are likely to deliver good growth on a constant currency basis, once again illustrating the robustness of our strategy and the quality of our staff and management," he added.
RPS said net bank debt stood at GBP83.5 million at the end of September, up from GBP63.8 million a year earlier, but it "has ample facilities to continue to implement its acquisition strategy".
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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