Results round-up

Marine services group James Fisher said it expected to return to growth in the second half and produce "a good improvement" in the full year as new contracts and acquisitions aid the revival after further falls in revenue and profits in the first half.

Continued weakness in the offshore oil market eclipsed strong contributions from the specialist technical, marine support and tankships divisions meant group so that group sales fell 2% to £209.3m, though underlying group profits were down only 0.5% to £19.9m.

Earnings per share were down a tenth of a penny to 29.4p and with continued strong cash conversion of 102%, directors were happy to hoist the interim dividend 10% to 8.55p per share.

Chief executive Nick Henry pointed out that the strong performances from three of the four divisions had lifted underlying operating profit by 18%.

"With new contracts in renewables, defence and nuclear decommissioning contributing fully in the second half and continued firm demand for ship to ship services, we expect to see a resumption of growth in the second half leading to a good improvement in the result for the full year."

Recent contract wins include for the Galloper Windfarm, Indian submarine rescue and Winfrith decommissioning progressing well, while in the second half of the year Fisher has completed the acquisitions of Singapore-based Lexmar, a specialist provider of diving equipment, and Hughes, a sub surface engineer specialising in the renewables market.

While profits at marine support, specialist technical and tankships grew 26%, 9% and 15% respectively, offshore oil delivered a result similar to that seen in the second half of 2015.

FTSE 250 builders merchant Grafton Group posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit as revenue grew thanks in part to strong growth in the Netherlands and Ireland, but the company warned of a challenging backdrop in UK merchanting.

In the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit was up 8% to £62.8m on revenue of £1.2bn, up 13% from the first half of last year.

Grafton said revenue growth was broadly split between existing business and acquisitions.

Adjusted group operating profit before property profit growth came in at £64.8m from £55.1m in 2015, reflecting strong contributions from Ireland, and the recent acquisition of Isero in the Netherlands and Selco in the UK.

The company declared an interim dividend of 4.75p per share compared to 4.50p the year before.

Chief executive officer Gavin Slark said: “Despite the more uncertain and competitive market conditions in the UK, Grafton continued to make good progress in its key markets enabling the group to record revenue, profit and earnings per share growth as well as strong cash generation.

“Both Ireland and the Netherlands continue to show strong growth with ongoing development opportunities. Grafton will continue to invest in areas of its business which combine good long term growth prospects and the opportunity to improve the group's operating margin and return on capital employed."

Grafton said that in the UK, performance contrasted between the continuing growth in profitability of Selco and the more challenging markets faced by the traditional UK merchanting business, which accounts for more than 70% of group sales.