CARILLION PLC 2012 THIRD QUARTER INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
"PERFORMANCE IN LINE WITH PREVIOUS GUIDANCE"
Following the Group's first-half eight per cent increase in operating profit, we continue to expect to deliver improvements in operating profit and total operating margin in the full year. We also continue to expect full-year revenue to be lower than in 2011, primarily due to the planned re-scaling of our UK construction activities to align these activities with the shrinking UK market. The expected increase in the Group's net financial expense in 2012, due largely to a higher interest charge relating to pensions, remains unchanged from the guidance we gave when we announced our half-year results.
The performance of, and outlook for, our four business segments, namely support services, Public Private Partnership projects, Middle East construction services and construction services (excluding the Middle East), remains in line with those we announced at the half year.
Our pipeline of contract opportunities remains strong and since the half year we have continued to win new orders and probable orders, notably in the Middle East where our businesses have won new and probable orders with a total value to Carillion of some £185 million. The largest of these orders is a £113 million contract to build a mixed use development for the Oman Public Authority for Social Insurance, on which work has already commenced.
During the third quarter, we completed the sale of further equity investments in Public Private Partnership projects, generating cash proceeds of £15.4 million.
Year-end net debt is expected to be around the same level as it was at the half year, namely £115 million, in line with previous guidance.
Outlook
In addition to remaining on track to deliver full-year results in 2012 in line with expectations, we also remain well positioned to achieve our medium-term targets, namely to deliver growth in support services and to double our annual revenues in the Middle East and in Canada in the five year period to 2015, in each case to around £1 billion.
