Aggreko buoyed by Local division in first half

18th Jun 2013 07:12

Temporary power and temperature control supplier Aggreko has left its full-year guidance unchanged after an in-line performance in the first half, though trading in its two main divisions remains mixed. The company said that both underlying and reported revenues in the six months to June 30th will be up around 5.0% on last year, while trading profits will be flat. The Local business, which accounts for almost three-fifths of Aggreko's sales, had a strong first half with revenues up 9.0% (+8.0% on an underlying basis) and margins higher than last year.However, growth at the Power Projects division, which serves power utilities, governments, armed forces and other industrial users, was a meagre 1.0% and margins were lower. This was partly because of mobilisation costs from the 220MW of gas plants Aggreko is commissioning in Mozambique and the Core d'Ivoire, the majority of which will be incurred in the second half."We expect the Local business to deliver a strong first half while trading in Power Projects remains subdued, albeit that the prospect pipeline has improved since the start of the year," the company said on Tuesday morning. "In the second half, revenues in Power Projects are expected to be higher than in the first as our new gas contracts in Mozambique and Côte d'Ivoire come on line, and we expect that the Local business will continue to deliver growth. Overall, our expectations for the full year remain unchanged."