James Fisher and Sons plc (LON:FSJ), the leading marine service provider, announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
|
2018 |
2017 restated** |
% change |
|
|
Revenue |
£561.5m |
£499.3m |
+13% |
|
Underlying operating profit * |
£62.1m |
£54.1m |
+15% |
|
Underlying operating margin * |
11.0% |
10.8% |
+20bps |
|
Underlying profit before tax * |
£56.1m |
£48.6m |
+15% |
|
Underlying diluted earnings per share * |
89.5p |
78.7p |
+14% |
|
Statutory profit before tax |
£55.4m |
£47.3m |
+17% |
|
Statutory diluted earnings per share |
88.9p |
76.9p |
+16% |
|
Total dividend per share |
31.6p |
28.7p |
+10% |
Highlights:
· All four divisions increased revenue and underlying operating profit;
· Strong organic† growth in revenue of 12% and underlying operating profit of 19%;
· Two submarine rescue systems delivered to the Indian navy;
· First long-term maintenance contract in Renewables;
· Strong cash conversion of 157% (2017: 57%), net debt:ebitda 1.3 times (2017: 1.7 times);
· Total dividend up 10% to 31.6p per share.
* excludes separately disclosed items (note 4)
** 2017 restated for IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from contracts with customers’ (note 11)
† organic growth is at constant currency and adjusted for business acquisitions.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer, Nick Henry, said:
“James Fisher performed well in 2018 and, with a strong pipeline of opportunities at the start of 2019, the Board has a high degree of confidence for the year ahead. The Group operates across a number of sectors with a broad geographical spread which adds resilience in times of economic uncertainty and our strategy of adding complementary skills and disciplines to the Group through niche acquisitions has served us well. The unwinding of the working capital commitment for the Indian submarine rescue vehicles went to plan and with our record of strong cash generation we closed the year with a robust balance sheet. I am confident that we will deliver further progress for our shareholders in the years ahead.”
