15th Nov 2005 07:02
Aggreko PLC15 November 2005 15th November 2005 AGGREKO plc TRADING STATEMENT Aggreko plc, the world leader in the provision of temporary power, temperaturecontrol and oil-free air solutions, is issuing the following trading update forthe year ending 31st December 2005. At the time of our interim results in September 2005, we stated that the profitbefore tax for the year was expected to be at least £50m as a consequence ofbetter than expected trading across a number of our businesses. Since then,trading has been stronger than we anticipated, and the Company now believes thatprofit before tax for the year ending 31st December 2005 will be around £55m. In North America, trading during recent weeks has been exceptionally strong. Thebase business has continued the trend of robust underlying growth seen in thefirst half, and the most intense - and one of the most destructive - hurricaneseasons on record means that our storm-related revenues will exceed materiallythe historic range of $6m-$13m a year. In addition, high temperatures in theSouthern United States persisted into October and drove strong demand for ourtemperature control products. This combination of a large number of hurricanesand high temperatures persisting late into the summer season is, in our view,unlikely to recur in future years. Trading has also been strong in Aggreko International, and results in this unitwill also be ahead of our expectations. This has been caused by continuing highlevels of demand, particularly in South America, the Middle East and Africa. Thehigh oil-price continues to fuel demand for our services in oil-producingcountries around the world. We are beginning to see some progress in Europe, and trading in the second halfwill be well ahead of the prior year on an underlying basis. Furthermore,following the successful implementation of our new operating model inContinental Europe, we have found opportunities to achieve additional costsavings and we are in the process of reducing the number of positions in thebusiness by about 50. Most of these positions are in management andadministrative functions. The majority of the costs related to thisrestructuring will be set against the £15m provision created in 2004, with thebalance of around £1.5m being charged to operating profit in 2005.Notwithstanding this additional charge, we still expect reported profits inEurope to be modestly ahead of the prior year in the second half. The Company will announce its Preliminary Results and give an update on itsstrategy on 9th March 2006. - END - For further information contact: Rupert Soames Aggreko plcAngus Cockburn Tel: 0141 225 5905 Suzanne Bartch The Maitland Consultancy Tel: 0207 379 5151 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
AGK.L