RPS's growth stalls

30th Jul 2009 16:04

The share price of environmental consultant RPS Group was down in the dumps after the company's growth story stalled.Profit before tax in the first half of 2009 inched higher to £27.49m from £27.4m a year earlier on revenue that eased to £221.53m from £225.87m.The company said a number of its markets were adversely affected by the economic slump.Cash conversion was strong, helping drive down net bank borrowings to £14.4m from £38.8m at the end of June 2008."Whilst global economic prospects remain uncertain we will continue to be cautious about investing and will focus our resources on markets showing most resilience," the company said. "The board remains confident that RPS will continue to perform well whatever economic circumstances we face in the coming months and is set to benefit as economies stabilise and as new government policies to deal with the related issues of energy supply and security and climate change turn into action and investment," it added.The interim dividend has been boosted to 2.01p from 1.75p at the half-year stage last year.