RPS's clients remain cautious

29th Oct 2009 07:47

Environmental consultant RPS hailed its sector and geographical diversity as it predicted full year results would be in line with market expectations.The company, which derives a chunk of its income from providing independent technical and commercial advice to the oil and gas industry, said activity in the energy sector in the third quarter was at similar levels to the second quarter, though there are signs of a pick-up in activity.The group's environmental management business in the Netherlands continues to trade successfully, even though the Dutch economy has witnessed a severe recession.Other parts of the environmental management business 'progressed as anticipated', with Australia a vibrant market while UK water activities were subdued ahead of the new investment cycle for UK water companies, which begins in April 2010.The Planning and Development division's performance has stabilised in Britain but Ireland remains challenging, with further tightening of project budgets, pressure on fee rates and slower payments from our clients. Once again, the picture in Australia has been a lot brighter than in many other parts of the world for this division, with recent announcements about substantial investment in the gas fields off the North West coast having a positive effect on the Western Australian economy, to the benefit of RPS's Perth based activities.Net bank borrowing at the end of September had risen to £38.3m from £14.4m at the end of June; during the third quarter the group stumped up £21.1m to acquire the Conics business in Australia.'As a result of our leadership in a diverse range of markets with long term attractions, and our strong balance sheet, we remain well positioned to take advantage of opportunities to expand our activities as they arise, such as the acquisition of Conics. A number of these opportunities are likely to relate to the globally important issues of energy security and supply and climate change,' said RPS chairman Brook Land.