Ricardo plc is today publishing its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2014.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Strong period end order book at £138m (June 2014: £142m)
  • Revenue up 8% to £120.5m (December 2013: £111.9m)
  • Underlying (1) profit before tax up 9% to £10.1m (December 2013: £9.3m)
  • Underlying (1) basic earnings per share up 9% to 15.9p (December 2013: 14.6p)
  • Net funds at £11.0m after £1.9m acquisition expenditure (June 2014: £12.6m)
  • Interim dividend up 8% to 4.65p per share (December 2013: 4.30p)
  • Acquisition activity with Vepro and PPA concluded in the period
  • Outlook remains positive, strong platform for further growth

(1) Excluding specific adjusting items of £1.1m (December 2013: £0.5m), which comprise amortisation of acquired intangible assets and acquisition costs (see note 6). Including specific adjusting items, reported profit before tax was £9.0m (December 2013: £8.8m) and reported basic earnings per share was 14.2p (December 2013: 13.9p).

Commenting on the results, Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer said: "As Ricardo closes out the last half year of its first century, our core expertise remains at the heart of our clients' demands - namely addressing energy efficiency, resource scarcity, emissions reduction and targeting global markets through innovation and technology. We continue to win orders from across all geographies and market sectors in which we operate and have again delivered profit growth together with good operating cash generation. Two small bolt-on acquisitions were completed in the period and the balance sheet remains strong to support our further growth. The second half has started well with strong order intake leading to a record order book of £152m at the end of January. As we look to our second century, we remain confident of further progress in the full year."


Further enquiries:  


Ricardo plc  
Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer 
Ian Gibson, Chief Financial Officer  
Tel:  01273 455611
Website: www.ricardo.com

Newgate Communications 
Fergus Wylie/Madeleine Palmstierna
Tel:  020 7680 6550    
E-mail: ricardo@newgatecomms.com

A full version of the Interim results announcement issued today by Ricardo plc can be downloaded from the link at the top right of this page, together with a copy of the results presentation (available from 10am).

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