5 June 2018 – final results
The international project management and consultancy group has announced its results for the year to 31 March 2018 which have proved disappointing as expected. Although revenue for the year increased slightly to £154.4m (2017: £151.8m), adjusted pre-tax profits fell to £2.9m (2017: £8.2m). Adjusted diluted earnings per share fell to 4.4p (2017: 11.9p) although the full year dividend was maintained at 1.8p. Net debt at the year end was £6.3m, a reduction from the level of £10.1m at 30 September. Although the results were disappointing, these had been well flagged and the second half of the financial year saw a much improved performance. At the year end the group’s order book had risen by 15% to £166.4m (2017: £145.0m). The group has changed its senior management team over the last year and it now looks set to benefit from actions it has taken to improve performance. The shares are a SPECULATIVE BUY.