1st Aug 2024 14:33
(Alliance News) - Serco Group PLC on Thursday said its outlook for 2024 is unchanged from the view given in late-June despite decreased revenue in the first half of the year.
Serco is an outsourcer based in Hampshire, England. It focuses on defence, justice & immigration, transport, health & other facilities management and citizen services.
Serco reported a 5% fall in revenue to GBP2.36 billion for the six months that ended June 30, from GBP2.47 billion a year before.
The firm attributed this to exits from low margin contracts as well as changes caused by rebidding contracts in North America.
Pretax profit decreased by 35% to GBP114.0 million for the half from GBP176.7 million a year prior.
Serco announced an interim dividend per share of 1.34 pence, up 18% from a year before.
Serco shares were down 3.9% to 184.10p each in London on Thursday.
Looking ahead, Serco said its outlook for 2024 is unchanged from the view given in late-June.
Back in June, Serco increased guidance for underlying operating profit by 4% to GBP270 million for the full year, from GBP260 million. The firm said it is on track to meet guidance, and reported GBP142 million underlying operating profit in the first half.
Revenue for the full year is expected to be around GBP4.8 billion, down slightly from GBP4.9 billion in 2023.
Chief Executive Mark Irwin commented: "We are pleased with progress so far in 2024 and the steps we are taking to deliver profitable, sustainable growth aligned to our medium-term goals. The business has a very healthy pipeline of potential new work, a business plan to deliver margin improvement from a rigorous approach to operational efficiency, a network of partnerships to support technology enablement and a robust balance sheet providing good optionality for capital allocation".
By Lydia Doye, Alliance News reporter
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