Profits slide at James Fisher

The marine services specialist said revenues in the six months to 30 June rose 2% to £238.4m, while underlying operating profits fell 29% to £9.5m. On a statutory basis, pre-tax profits declined nearly 61% at £3.2m.

The firm said it had seen strong growth in Offshore Oil and Tankships, but that had been offset by lower contributions from its Specialist Technical division along with "subdued" ship-to-ship transfer activities in its Marine Support unit.

Angus Cockburn, chair, said: "The board and management team are taking decisive actions to address the ongoing issues affecting the group’s performance, including rolling out an operational excellence programme across the group, continuing to explore ways to rationalise the portfolio, and restructuring the Fendercare and JFD businesses.

"More strategic actions will be completed in the second half."

Cockburn said trading and order intake in July and August - traditional busy months for the firm - had been in line with expectations, and the second half was expected to be "materially stronger" than the first.

However, he added that while Specialist Technical’s sales pipeline was strong, the timing of a long-term project win was "uncertain", and full-year underlying operating profit was now expected to be "broadly in line" with 2021.

As at 1045 BST, shares in the firm were down nearly 7% at 285p.