Outsourcing lull is over, says Capita

21st Jul 2011 07:02

Half-year turnover and profit before tax came in a shade below market expectations at outsourcing behemoth Capita Group.Turnover for the first half of 2011 rose 3% to £1,400m from £1,361m the year before, below market expectations of £1,443m. Acquisitions contributed £134m to the turnover figure, which means revenue fell on a like-for-like basis, as widely tipped in the market.Underlying profit before tax rose 7% to £174.0m from £163.1m the year before; the market had pencilled in £176.8m.The bid pipeline, which had dipped from its end-February record level of £4.7bn has been "rapidly replenished" back up to £4.7bn,the company said."Against a backdrop of trading conditions which have continued to bechallenging, the business has progressed in 2011 and we are now experiencingstrong major contract sales performance and high levels of acquisitionactivity," said chief executive, Paul Pindar. "We have secured contracts and renewals totalling £1.1bn in the first half of the year, more than double the value achieved in the first half of 2010. This reflects the increasingly strong demand for outsourcing across thepublic and private sectors after a two year period of subdued sales activity," Pindar added.The interim dividend has been hiked by 9% to 7.2p per share from 6.6p at the interim stage last year.--jh