3rd Mar 2015 11:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - Marine services company James Fisher & Sons PLC Tuesday reported a rise in pretax profit and revenue in 2014 and increased its dividend by 10% on the back of a solid performance across its business, and said it has struck a deal to buy a South African marine services company.
The FTSE 250-listed company said its pretax profit ticked up to GBP49.2 million, from GBP46.2 million in 2013, as revenue rose to GBP444.8 million from GBP413.7 million.
Shares in James Fisher were up 6% to 1,229.00 pence on Tuesday, one of the best performers in the FTSE 250.
The company said revenue across its marine services divisions grew solidly in the year, with strong profit growth in its specialist technical and offshore oil units.
James Fisher said it has proposed an increase in its final dividend to 14.9 pence per share, making its total dividend for the year 22 pence per share, against 20 pence in 2013.
"The strong result underlines our broad geographic spread and range of specialist services across diverse marine sectors. James Fisher is well placed to invest organically and to take advantage of further acquisition opportunities. Looking forward to 2015 we believe the group continues to be well placed to provide further growth and value for our shareholders," said Chief Executive Officer Nick Henry.
Marine Support revenue fell 4% in the year on the back of a fall in ship-to-ship transfers, particularly in South East Asia and West Africa, and lower sales of marine products due to challenging market conditions in some key markets. The revenue was also dragged lower by the strength of sterling over the year, which offset growth in marine service project revenue and renewables sector sales.
Offshore Oil revenue increased 6% in the year, with a strong first half boosted by one-off equipment sales in the Brazilian market. The unit was also boosted by the performance of Scantech Offshore, the well-testing equipment provider.
Specialist Technical revenue rose 48% in the year, boosted by a strong performance in saturation diving systems projects, a better contribution from the defence sector and further progress in its nuclear division.
James Fisher's Tankships arm saw revenue fall 11%, primarily due to an average of two fewer vessels being in operation over the year. But underlying profit in the division rose 47% due to improved vessel utilisation and a higher proportion of contract cargoes.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, James Fisher also said it has struck an all-cash deal to buy South Africa-based marine and subsea services provider Subtech Group Holdings Pty Ltd.
James Fisher will pay an initial GBP3.4 million to acquire Subtech, with a further GBP9.9 million in deferred consideration due based on the acquired company achieving profit targets in 2015 and 2017.
Panmure Gordon upgraded its rating on James Fisher to Buy from Hold on the back of the results, saying the company offers excellent growth prospects and an attractive valuation.
Panmure analyst Gert Zonneveld said James Fisher's valuation has become increasingly attractive over the past 12 months, noting its prospective price-earnings ratio has fallen from more than 20 times in February 2014 to around 13.7 times now, largely driven by concerns about the impact of a crude oil price fall.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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