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Profits warning and possible rights issue - even the large cap companies are not immune to a shock. Sorry but a double digit share price fall possible tomorrow
Serco to provide air navigation services at Sharjah International Airport Date : 26 March 2014 Serco, the international service company, today announces that it has signed a contract with Sharjah Civil Aviation Department to continue to provide air navigation services at Sharjah International Airport. Serco will also be responsible for training Emirati Nationals to become qualified air traffic controllers (ATC) and ATC assistants. The three-year contract is valued at £7m. Serco, and its predecessor IAL, have delivered services to Sharjah International Airport since 1947 when it was a stopover point for flights en-route to India and Australia. It has since expanded significantly, and in 2012 the airport achieved a 12 per cent growth in passenger numbers, supported by Serco's high quality air traffic control operations. Serco will continue to support the development and the growth of Sharjah International Airport, namely by supporting the refurbishment of the air traffic control tower and the commissioning of the new runway, and by maintaining the provision of safe and efficient air traffic services for all the passengers. David Greer, CEO of Serco Middle East, India and Africa, said: "The award of this contract to continue to deliver air navigation services at Sharjah International Airport demonstrates the trust and confidence our customer has in Serco. We will ensure, through our highly qualified staff, that we continue providing excellent services to support the development and growth of the airport." His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Essam Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Civil Aviation Department, said: "Signing a contract with a company that has such a long and established experience in the field of air navigation services will allow us to provide the best possible service in this area, especially since Sharjah International Airport has been witnessing an active increase in aircraft movements year on year. Our collaboration with Serco will ensure smooth aircraft movements as well as full compliance to matters of safety at the airport, especially during aircraft landing and takeoff. The contract also includes the training of Emirati Nationals to become future Air Traffic Controllers and Air Traffic Controllers Assistants. This is in line with our ambition to provide young Nationals with knowledge and skills that enable them to perform their duties and responsibilities
Serco starts training French airport firefighters Date : 24 March 2014 Serco's International Fire Training Centre (IFTC), one of the world's leading fire training centres, has welcomed its first-ever group of French airport firefighters after gaining approval from the French civil aviation authority, the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC), to carry out refresher training. The firefighters from Bordeaux spent four days updating their theoretical knowledge and practical skills at the centre, which is based at Durham Tees Valley airport in the north east of England. All airport fire crews must complete refresher training every three years and IFTC is well placed to provide this service with its unique blend of training rigs, expert tuition, a state-of-the-art virtual reality suite and onsite accommodation. Serco also recently recruited a team of five French aviation fire specialists to ensure the new customers' needs are well-served and understood, and last year invested £850,000 in two new Sides S3X fire appliances. IFTC currently trains 10,000 delegates from 80 different countries each year but this is the first time it has worked with French airport firefighters. It represents a significant development for the centre which plans to further increase export sales in Europe during 2014 and beyond. Serco's Gary Watson, Business Operations Manager for the IFTC, said: "The IFTC is number one in the UK and has enjoyed steady growth in international sales over the past five years. By further investing in our equipment and people, we are delighted to be able to extend our offer to French airports and offer a fresh choice in accredited aviation fire training. We've already had strong commitments from a number of customers in France and we look forward to welcoming them in increasing numbers throughout 2014." Ends For more information, please contact: Elaina Botham, Head of Marketing and Sales, IFTC Tel: +44 (0) 1325 331120 and Email: Elaina.Botham@serco.com Notes to editors 1. The IFTC is a leading global resource offering an unrivalled range of specialist training, educational and consultancy services to the firefighting community worldwide. It produces exceptional firefighting professionals primed to operate in the most demanding of industries including the aviation, marine, industrial and offshore sectors. More information can be found at: www.iftcentre.com 2. The centre hosted a number of open days in December 2013 to showcase its world-class capabilities to French Fire Service Managers. 3. Serco employs almost 300 firefighters across its UK businesses, including the IFTC, a similar size to a medium-sized rural Local Authority Fire Service. The company delivers fire services for three civil airfields and airports, including Cardiff International airport, and is the largest private provider of fire services to the UK Ministry of Defence, with responsibility for protection, prevention and re
Serco signs £70m services contract with Lincolnshire County Council Date : 24 March 2014 Serco, the international service company, is delighted to confirm that it has signed a new contract to provide a range of business process and contact centre services for Lincolnshire County Council, delivering savings of more than £14m over five years. As the Council's new strategic partner, Serco will be responsible for a wide range of customer-facing and back-office functions including finance, HR and ICT, and for the Council's customer services operations, which are currently delivered in-house. Serco will start work on transforming services from April this year in preparation for the transition in April 2015. The five-year deal is valued in excess of £70m. The contract also includes an agreement to add supplementary services as well as an option to extend for two further two-year periods. Jonathan Prew, Managing Director of Serco's Public Sector BPO business, said: "We're very excited about this partnership and the benefits we believe it will deliver to the Council and local communities across Lincolnshire. By introducing new technology and ways of working, we will help improve services and drive efficiencies for the Council. However, the most important thing is a smooth transition with no drop in service for citizens and Council staff." Cllr Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: "We are pleased to have signed this important contract with Serco and look forward to them delivering a better deal with more savings, as well as creating additional local employment opportunities
Inspectors praise Serco-run Newmarket Community Hospital Date : 14 March 2014 A Serco-run hospital and community health team is meeting all essential quality and safety standards, according to a health watchdog. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report commended Newmarket Community Hospital for the quality of service it provides, following an unannounced routine visit in January. It also commended the community health team that is based there, as well as the outpatients department. The hospital and the teams based there, which are part of Suffolk Community Healthcare, were evaluated against five criteria and met every one. They are: consent to care and treatment; care and welfare of people who use services; safeguarding people who use services from abuse; supporting workers; assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision. Dr Abigail Tierney, chief executive of Suffolk Community Healthcare, which employs 1,000 staff across the county, said: "I am delighted the CQC recognises the quality of care provided by our wonderful staff. "I want to thank them all for their high standards and caring for patients according to their health and welfare needs. We know our patients appreciate that, because everyone we surveyed last month said they would recommend all of our four community hospitals to their family and friends. In addition, almost everyone (99%) said they would recommend all the services we provide in the community." The commission looked at the personal care and treatment records of people using the hospital and talked to patients and staff. The report said: "People told us that they were cared for in a kind and compassionate way by staff. One person said, 'This is a wonderful hospital. The food is good, the girls are kind and so is the manager.' "We found that people were cared for safely in the ward area at Newmarket Hospital and in community services provided by therapists and nursing teams. There were appropriate assessments made of people's needs. Care was provided based also on any risks identified such as risk of falling or developing a pressure sore." The CQC regulates all care across the country, including hospitals, hospices and care homes.
Serco embarks on significant expansion programme for leading UK retailer Date : 06 March 2014 Serco, the international service company, has confirmed the launch of a recruitment drive for around 150 new members of staff to be based at its state-of-the-art contact centre facility in Amberley Street, Sheffield. Serco first started operating in Sheffield two years ago and has continued the development of this dedicated centre of excellence, successfully broadening the services delivered from the site. This latest expansion will take the total number of employees to over 700 and the number of customer contacts they handle each year to over seven million. "We're keen to speak with anyone who has the experience, ambition, maturity and drive to help us meet and exceed our objectives and targets for our clients," explains Cheryl Jones, Serco's Head of Resourcing for the Sheffield centre. "This is a great opportunity for motivated people with excellent communications skills to work in a vibrant and progressive work environment right in the heart of the city and join us in delivering cutting edge services for our retail clients. We are delighted that we will be offering a number of permanent part-time roles which we hope will be of interest to working parents and students in the city." The Amberley Street site enjoys a host of first class facilities for its employees, including a swimming pool and gym. The centre is situated close to Meadow Hall Shopping Centre, with great links to public transport and extensive on-site parking
Serco Group plc will announce its 2013 Full Year Results to the London Stock Exchange at 7:00am UK time on Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Serco Group plc (Serco), the international service company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rupert Soames OBE as Group Chief Executive with effect from 1 June 2014, at which point he will join the Serco Group plc Board. Ed Casey will continue to lead the company as Chief Executive in the interim. Rupert is currently the Group Chief Executive of Aggreko plc, the FTSE100 support services company and world's largest temporary power generation and temperature control services business. He has led Aggreko since 2003, serving customers, including many central and local government clients, in 100 countries around the world. The services that Aggreko provides are often mission-critical, large and complex, such as supporting an entire country's national grid or successfully providing power to the 2012 London Olympics. Rupert Soames is also currently the Senior Independent Director of Electrocomponents plc, the FTSE250 support services company. Alastair Lyons, non-executive Chairman of Serco Group plc, said: "Rupert Soames is a highly experienced FTSE100 Chief Executive with a significant track record of success, leading a substantial and complex international support services business. He and his team have driven growth in Aggreko by developing customer-focused strategies and consistently delivering against them. Rupert is a passionate believer in public services, highly respected by customers, governments, employees and investors, and I am absolutely delighted that he has chosen to join Serco and lead the company's future development. "Serco has a unique combination of capabilities with international reach. No other company has the breadth across both frontline and middle and back office services. No other company can apply the experience and track-record that we have across the UK, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, or Australia to support the winning of new contracts in another geography. Serco has strong foundations and the Board is confident in the Group's ability to realise its full potential under Rupert's leadership. I would also like to express my huge appreciation to Ed Casey for his commitment to Serco during this difficult period, and for providing great leadership to get the company back on track." Rupert Soames said: "It is has been an extremely difficult decision for me to leave Aggreko after eleven enjoyable and successful years. I am hugely excited to be joining Serco as I have always admired the services it delivers and the passion and commitment of its people. I am aware that the Company has experienced significant recent difficulties but the work that Serco does is important to the lives of millions of people and I believe that we can find a way through to a bright future. I am greatly looking forward to working with my new colleagues to deliver the quality of services that will impress our customers, shock our competitors and please our investors."
Havering Council selects Serco to deliver waste and recycling services Serco, one of the UK's leading environmental services providers, has been selected by the London Borough of Havering to manage its household waste and recycling services. The seven year contract (with an option to continue for a further three years) commences on the 1st August and is valued at around £40m. Serco already delivers a range of environmental services to over 17 local authorities across the UK from waste and recycling collections to landscaping and street cleansing. This new contract is now Serco's fifth in London and will see the company delivering environmental services to well over one million residents across the capital every week. According to the London Borough of Havering, Serco was chosen for its approach to delivering these important services to the community and for being 'value for money'. Under the new contract, Serco will be investing in a new fleet of split back vehicles to enable both refuse and recycling sacks to be collected at the same time in separate sections, reducing both vehicle movements in the borough and carbon footprint. Serco will also work with the voluntary sector to establish a furniture reuse scheme and also to provide a collection service to have large items collected direct from people's homes. The introduction of a new doorstep collections service for textiles, small electrical appliances and batteries is also being considered. Councillor Barry Tebbutt, Cabinet Member for StreetCare, said: "We're really looking forward to working with Serco, they've come up with some good ideas to help minimise waste and ensure that the already exceptional standards that we have are maintained." Mike Boult, Managing Director of Serco's Direct Services business, said: "We are delighted the London Borough of Havering has selected Serco to deliver these important services to the residents of Havering. Our track record in delivering a broad range of environmental services across the UK means that we are uniquely placed to understand the growing needs of the local community. We look forward to working in partnership with the council to deliver the waste service and the innovations we have pledged in the bid
Serco, the international service company, has been awarded a contract by the European Parliament to consolidate and transform their IT support services. Under this new contract, which is valued at EUR 60m over six years, Serco will work with its partners to provide support to the European Parliament in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Serco has been providing a range of support services to the European Parliament since 1998. Under the new contract, Serco will continue to provide these services and will also deliver front office and back office IT services, as well as central logistic and procurement services. One key aspect of the new service will be the consolidation of the three current service desks located in two countries consolidated into one and the service will provide support to both the VIPs and standard users of the European Parliament. The 1,500 VIP Users of the European Parliament include the President of the European Parliament and his staff, the Members of the European Parliament, the Secretary General staff, the Directors-General's offices and Directors. Michael Alner, Serco Europe's Managing Director, said: "We are extremely pleased to be extending the services that we offer at the European Parliament and look forward to the challenges and to bringing service to life for this client
Serco has been re-awarded the contract to provide operation and maintenance support to the Solid State Phased Array Radar (SSPAR), part of the UK/US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System located at RAF Fylingdales, North Yorkshire on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). The six-year contract, which starts on 1 April 2014, is valued at over £15m, with an option for six further years. Under the terms of the new contract, Serco will be responsible for the operation, maintenance and repair of the SSPAR and associated hardware and life support systems including Project Management and Software maintenance activities. RAF Fylingdales is considered one of the key components for UK national security and last year celebrated 50 years of Ballistic Missile Early Warning Operations. Serco is the only contractor to have continuously operated and maintained the facility, despite 11 competitive tender exercises. Some of the existing Serco team have been supporting RAF Fylingdales since the very beginning, while Serco as a company has provided continuous support on site since its formation in 1988. Duncan Mackison, Serco's Managing Director for Defence said: "RAF Fylingdales plays a critical role in defending the nation. Serco is incredibly proud to be part of its 50 year history and can now look forward to being part of its future. We are delighted that both the MOD and RAF continue to have confidence in our ability to deliver a high quality service. This is an important contract for us and our continued success is down to the hard work and professionalism of all those who work at this small station on the North Yorkshire Moors and their drive for continuous improvement."
Broker ratings down and Serco offloading electronic monitoring contract to Capita.
No RNS and more buys than sells and yet we're 5% down on the day.
This company bring to mind the image of a lazy octopus with tentacles in too many pies, and none deep enough to warrant taking a medium or long term risk. Good for short term trading only (in my humble and limited opinion).
The management have been proven to be incompetent - growing fat on easy money government contracts. They have received basic training in ethics and governance and everything is going to be grovey from now on.
You are right, it's not good here. Can anyone say what happened here?
Serco and Bromley Healthcare sign partnership agreement Date : 20 January 2014 Leading community healthcare providers Serco and Bromley Healthcare, an employee-owned social enterprise, have signed a partnership agreement to work together in the community healthcare market. In the short term, the two organisations will start work immediately to further improve the quality of community healthcare in Suffolk, with Bromley Healthcare acting in an advisory capacity and supporting clinical leaders. In the long term, they intend to join forces to bid for a range of opportunities in community services and integrated care across the UK. This new partnership will seek to use the expertise and skills of both organisations to improve care for patients, while delivering best value for the NHS. Both organisations have a strong understanding of challenges and opportunities in the community healthcare environment and have proven track records in delivering improvements for complex and varied services. This is a key priority for the NHS as the government seeks to reduce the number of people going to hospital. Serco has a proven track record in delivering the innovation and change that is necessary to modernise community healthcare if it is to play a pivotal role in a 21st century health service
Maybe one broker downgrade then another broker puts a buy note on srp price target £6.20 and a contract win . ended up on the day so all,s well that ends well. I think this will tick higher over the coming months fingers crossed for a few more contract wins.
Extensions on 2 contracts and shareprice moves down in a rising market. Is it not good to get extensions to contracts (presuming they are profitable). All I can think is a slight retrace after the constant move upwards - any ideas?
If good news keeps dripping through like the past couple of days sentiment should begin to improve ,Not sure why the the blip downwards in the sp this morning
Serco signs two-year contract extension with Canadian Department of National Defence 10 January 2014 Serco Group plc (Serco), the international service company, today announces that it has been awarded a two-year contract extension by Public Works and Government Services Canada to provide site support services at the 5 Wing Canadian Forces Base in Goose Bay, Canada. This new contract extends the current 11-year agreement to March 2016. The extension is valued at just under C$100m over a two-year period. Under the extension, Serco will continue to perform the majority of the non-military operation and maintenance functions at this base, which is located in Central Labrador. The base is comprised of two 10,000ft runways, over 200 buildings totalling almost 275,000m2, and extensive civil infrastructure. The base has a training area that covers 130,000km2. The services provided by Serco include: Aviation Services, including Air Traffic Control and Navaids; Logistics Services, including Warehouse Operations, Snow and Ice Removal, Environmental Protection, Hazardous Waste Management and Material Control; and Facilities Management Services, including Engineering, Telecomm/IT, Electrical and Airfield Distribution Systems, Water Treatment, Central Heating Plant Operations, Grounds Maintenance, Security, Food Services and Cleaning Services. Serco has been providing services to the Canadian Department of National Defense at 5 Wing Goose Bay since 1998 and is the largest private sector employer in the area. The Company is very active in the community and has received numerous awards for its performance. Paul Dalglish, Serco's Vice President of Canadian Operations, said: "Working with the Department of National Defence, Serco has provided site support services at Goose Bay for over 15 years. We're excited to continue our work on behalf of the Canadian government and to remain a viable part of the local Goose Bay community
Serco Group plc (Serco), the international service company, today announces that it has signed a two-year extension to its contract with Transport for London (TfL) to manage and operate the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme. The extension is valued at £38m and will see Serco continue to run the service until July 2017. The contract to design, build and operate the service was awarded in 2009 and had an initial six-year period. As part of the contract and together with TfL, Serco has implemented successfully two expansions of the scheme; the first into east London in April 2012, and the second into west London at the end of last year. The scheme now covers 100km² with a total of 11,000 bikes and 756 docking stations. David Stretch, Serco's Managing Director of Transport, said: "This contract extension demonstrates the trust and confidence Transport for London has in Serco's ability to support the future of the iconic Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme. We are committed to providing the best service to users and continually improving overall performance. Serco has a huge amount of experience delivering high quality transport services across the world which we draw upon to ensure our customers get the best possible service." TfL's Managing Director of Surface Transport, Leon Daniels, added: "TfL continues to work with Serco to deliver improvements to the redistribution of bikes around London. A number of improvements made last year to the operation of Barclays Cycle Hire mean the scheme is now even easier to use, and recent survey results show that overall satisfaction of members has reached the highest score since launch. There have been a total of over 26 million hires since the scheme began in July 2010."
Panmure Gordon has chosen Serco as a key pick for 2014, saying that it expects the outsourcing company to be given a clean bill of health following a tough year. Analyst Mike Allen said he believes there is scope for Serco to recover some of its "dramatic underperformance from last year" as its relationship with the UK government starts to improve again. "While the recent settlement with the government is a step in the right direction removing some short term uncertainty, the acceptance of Serco's Corporate Renewal programme is still required for the company to be awarded new work with the government," he said. A decision on this is expected in January and Serco's management seem confident it will be granted. As such, Allen believes that the company will recover and rebuild its reputation with the government as its key supplier during the year. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings valuation discount of 22% to others in the sector on 2013 forecasts and a 9% discount on 2014 forecasts. Allen said that the discount to Babcock and Capita is understandable given its recent issues and lower growth prospects, but the ongoing discount to security solutions firm G4S is "anomalous". The analyst has raised his target price for the stock from 535p to 560p. "We think 2014E will be the earnings trough year, and there is scope for the company to rebuild its earnings and reputation during the course of the year. With 18% upside and a dividend yield of 3% on offer, we maintain a 'buy' recommendation on the shares and believe recent strength has been justified," Allen said.
Panmure Gordon has chosen Serco as a key pick for 2014, saying that it expects the outsourcing company to be given a "clean bill of health" following a tough year. It has raised its target price for the stock from 535p to 560p. "We think 2014E will be the earnings trough year, and there is scope for the company to rebuild its earnings and reputation during the course of the year. With 18% upside and a dividend yield of 3% on offer, we maintain a 'buy' recommendation on the shares and believe recent strength has been justified," said Analyst Mike Allen. Analysts at Barclays Capital have highlighted potential improving flows for UK asset managers, saying that stocks will benefit from a bullish outlook for 2014. The bank said that inflow rates are still "sub-trend" and have the potential to improve further. Meanwhile, the average price-to-earnings valuation multiple for asset managers remains at around 14-14.5, which "appear[s] mid-range with the potential to re-rate higher".