12th Jan 2006 07:00
INTERSERVE PLC TRADING UPDATE Interserve Plc, the infrastructure and facilities management group, todayprovides an update on 2005 trading in advance of announcing preliminary resultson 13 March 2006.The Group remains confident of delivering strong overall growth in the yearwith the majority of our businesses performing better than anticipated. Tradinghas benefited from our additional investment in overseas activities and fromgrowth in UK public sector outsourcing and social infrastructure activities.Facilities Services has made strong progress, fuelled by volume and work-scopeincreases on existing contracts and the ramp-up of activity on recently-wonbusiness. We are also encouraged by new contract wins in the health andeducation sectors. Ongoing business efficiency programmes, set against ahealthy demand environment, have yielded margin improvements to augmentunderlying volume growth.Whilst we have been successful in winning several new term maintenancecontracts, overall performance in Industrial Services has been weaker thananticipated. The continued transition from heritage contracts, together withinvestment in management resources and systems, is impacting current volume andprofitability. We remain confident, however, that this investment will positionus to take advantage of this attractive outsourcing market in the medium term.Project Services has performed very well. In the UK the healthy flow of workthrough our various framework arrangements has continued, supplemented by anumber of project completions. Trading in the Middle East has been excellent,buoyed by high volumes of activity, particularly in Qatar.Equipment Services has delivered an excellent performance driven by recentinvestment in core fleet, systems and business infrastructure, and based onoutstanding trading in the Middle East, supplemented by growth in Spain, HongKong and Chile.We have continued to be successful in winning new business from relationshipswith customers such as BT, Barclays, Dorset County Council, the HighwaysAgency, the MOD, Mapeley and the NHS. Secured future workload in the UK isexpected to be slightly lower although the flow of new business opportunitiesremains strong and the demand environment is encouraging, particularlyoverseas. Accordingly, the Board believes that the Group is well-placed todeliver continued progress through 2006 and beyond. - Ends - For further information please contact:Tim Jones 0118 960 2352Group Finance DirectorTom Siveyer / Elizabeth Morley 020 7379 5151The Maitland ConsultancyAbout InterserveInterserve Plc (www.interserveplc.co.uk) is an infrastructure and facilitiesmanagement group. It provides services throughout an asset's life cycle, frominvesting to building, maintaining, operating and replacing. Interserve isbased in the UK, is listed on the London Stock Exchange in the support servicessector (IRV.L) and trades in the FTSE 250 index. It has a turnover of more than‚£1.2 billion and employs more than 11,000 people worldwide.ENDINTERSERVE PLCRelated Shares:
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