Ricardo plc is a global engineering and strategic, technical and environmental consultancy business with a value chain that includes the niche manufacture and assembly of high-performance products.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Another record order book of £244m following strong order intake in the second quarter
  • Good order intake, up 11% to £181m
  • Reported revenue up 6%
  • Dividend up 7%, reflecting growth in underlying basic earnings per share
  • Net debt of £47.0m after £3.7m of net acquisition expenditure
  • Acquisition of Motorcycle Engineering Italia (Exnovo) completed in the period and all prior acquisitions performing well, and
  • Our progress on diversification across geographies and sectors provides a good platform for continued growth

(1) Excludes specific adjusting items, which comprise amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £1.9m (31 December 2015: £1.7m) and acquisition-related expenditure of £1.1m (31 December 2015: £1.0m). In the prior period, non-recurring income of £1.5m for claims under the Research & Development Expenditure Credit ('RDEC') scheme in respect of prior years was also included.

(2) Excludes the performance of acquisitions (Motorcycle Engineering Italia and Cascade on a like-for-like basis with the prior period).

Commenting on the results, Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer said:

'Our growth strategy remains focused on the strategic diversification of our business through organic and acquisitive actions. We continue to develop technology that will help our clients meet the global challenges of urbanisation, electrification of transport, climate change and the management of scarce resources.

'We have been successful in winning good levels of new business within the Rail, Energy & Environment and High-Performance Vehicles & Motorsport sectors. Our Automotive businesses in the US, the UK and the rest of Europe experienced a weaker than expected first quarter, but performance improved in the second quarter.

'We maintain our strategic objective to explore a range of organic and acquisitive growth options to continue the development of a growing and resilient Group.

'Overall, we continue to trade in line with our expectations and are pleased with another record order book of £244m.'

Further enquiries:

Ricardo plc
Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer
Ian Gibson, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 01273 455611
Website: www.ricardo.com
Newgate Communications
Adam Lloyd / Zoë Pocock / Ed Treadwell
Tel: 020 7680 6550
Ricardo@newgatecomms.com

A full version of this Interim Results announcement issued today by Ricardo plc, together with the interim results presentation, can be downloaded from the links at the top right of this page.

Ricardo plc published this content on 28 February 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 February 2017 10:45:13 UTC.

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