Trading in the fourth quarter has been better than anticipated, said Aggreko plc in a trading update this week. The world leader in the provision of temporary power and temperature control solutions said it has had continued strong results in its “Local” businesses and a drop in the off-hire rate. The company is expecting a 20-percent increase in group revenues for the year to about £1.22 billion (about U.S. $1.9 billion), with profit before tax and amortization rising 25 percent to about £305 million.
“We expect to end the year with net debt of around £145 million — a reduction of £30 million over the course of the year,” the company said. “This in spite of record levels of capital expenditure and the recently announced acquisition of Northland Power Services for about £15 million.”
Aggreko said fleet capital expenditure in 2010 will be around £260 million, about 1.8 times fleet depreciation
Trading in International Power Projects improved in the fourth quarter, with the record order-intake secured in the first half now generating revenues. Aggreko expects fourth-quarter revenues to grow by about 12 percent, with growth for the full year at about 10 percent. In local business, the company expects underlying revenues to jump about 20 percent year over year in the fourth quarter, with about 30 percent underlying growth in North America.
Aggreko added it plans to continue to invest heavily in its fleet, expecting to spend about £320 million on new fleet in 2011, about £60 million more than it spent in 2010.
“We also plan to continue upgrading our North American fleet to the latest emissions standards as well as investing in fleet for our new service centers in Asia and South America,” the company said, adding that the numbers were flexible and could change in response to demand.
Based in Scotland, with U.S. headquarters in Houston, Aggreko is No. 9 on the RER 100.
