Siteserv’s revenue boosted by 9%

NEW business helped boost Siteserv’s first-half revenue by 9%, the company said yesterday.

The Dublin-based infrastructure support services group reported revenuesof €92.2 million for the six months to the end of October — up from €84.5m for the corresponding period, last year.

First-half operating profit was €4.8m, up by 4% year on year, while after-tax profits rose by 60% to €800,000.

Chief executive Brian Harvey said: “We continue to deliver on our stated corporate objectives; our revenue performance is consistent with our goal to drive organic growth and geographically diversify our revenue. We recorded a number of new contract wins across Ireland and the UK in the period and retain visibility over a significant revenue and profit stream for the next three years.”

Among the new business wins and renewals were contract deals with BSkyB, the ESB, Bord Gáis, Centrica and RTÉ.

In Ireland, Siteserv’s support services business continued to build market share, while its British division saw first-half revenue and profit rise 17% and 20%, respectively.

With regard to outlook, the company said: “Although the trading environment remains challenging, we expect the UK division to continue to outperform last year, and deliver revenue and earnings growth. The Irish support services business will continue to benefit from the all-Ireland BSkyB contract award, which will have a more pronounced impact on the second half of the year — given that the contract for Northern Ireland only commenced on October 1. Performance in the modular accommodation, civil engineering and motorway barrier businesses will remain subdued, given the constraints on Irish Government spending on road, hospital and education infrastructural projects.”

Siteserv’s first-half figures also show its net debt has increased slightly on a year-on-year basis to just over €150m, nearly €2m more than for the same period last year, while earnings per share also rose — by 2c to 8c.