Aggreko cautious on Arab turmoil

10th Mar 2011 07:29

Aggreko, the temporary electricity supplier that will power next year's London Olympics, enjoyed a strong year in 2010, but warned that the current turmoil in the Arab world makes predicting this year's outcome difficult. Pre-tax profits were up by nearly a quarter from 2009 at £307.1m. Revenues were up by 20% to £1.23bn. The company was helped by its participation in some big events, including the football World Cup in South Africa and the Vancouver Winter Olympics."I am pleased to report that Aggreko has produced another strong set of results, and that we are in a position to increase returns to shareholders substantially, while continuing to invest at record levels in growing the business," said chairman Philip Rogerson.While the current instability in the Middle East and Africa is a concern, "Our global scale and diversification of risk exposures will be helpful as we manage through this period of uncertainty, and we anticipate that for the year as a whole trading profit in 2011 will be at a similar level to 2010," he said.Aggreko has already been reducing its exposure to North Africa, though it still has a strong presence in the Middle East. The Middle East and South East Europe accounted for nearly £100m in revenues in 2010.