Kentz profits expected to top €44m

THE Clonmel-based international contracting group Kentz Corporation reports that the current year has started well.

Both trading halves will be similar, with earnings from new contracts ensuring a good spread of activity across the entire year.

Group chief executive Hugh O’Donnell told shareholders at the group’s AGM in London yesterday that the momentum that delivered strong results in 2009 has been sustained in the current year.

Analysts on average were expecting a pre-tax profit of $54.1 million (€44.6m) on revenue of $868.2m (€716m) for the full year 2010, according to Thomson Reuters.

At the end of April the group had a backlog of business worth $1.58bn against $1.49bn at the end of December 2009.

“The order intake between January and April 2010 of $370.5m has generated backlog growth in all three business units,” said Mr O’Donnell.

Overall the group’s core sectors are likely to see significant demand including opportunities from “new and challenging areas”, he said.

Safety continues to grow in importance in the oil and gas sectors, where the group is heavily involved in the Middle East and other areas and Mr O’Donnell said the group’s track record stands on its merits.

The group’s safety record remains “at the heart of everything we deliver at Kentz,” he added.

Its cash position remains strong and, with relatively little debt on the balance sheet, “we have a solid financial base to support our operations through 2010 and beyond,” he said.

The order book for the Specialist EPC business unit continues to grow and at the end of April stood at $851.2m.

That growth has been underpinned through continued expansion in Australasia, where a number of significant projects are under development.

The company expects to see a similar ratio of revenue between the first and second half of the year as was reported in 2009.