LONDON (Alliance News) - Waste management company Augean PLC on Tuesday said pretax profit and revenue both rose in 2015 amid robust performances across its divisions.
Augean said pretax profit for the year to the end of December rose 12% to GBP6.0 million from GBP5.4 million, as revenue increased 11% to GBP61.0 million from GBP55.0 million.
The group said its Energy & Construction division performed well in the year, helped by higher levels of construction soils activity during the year. Revenue and margins also improved for its Radioactive Waste Services unit, despite lower volumes of waste received in the year.
The group saw a very strong result for its North Sea Services arm, with contract wins from oil and gas customers, and said its turnaround plan is underway for its Industry & Infrastructure arm, with a focus on extending the services it offers.
Augean said 2016 has started well, with new contract wins secured, and said it will place an emphasis on moving revenue to long-term deals and framework agreements.
Augean hiked its dividend payout to 0.65 pence from 0.5p a year earlier, up 30%.
"The group remains focused on the execution of its strategy to deliver shareholder value and further direct contracts with Tier-1 producers have been secured, improving forward visibility of earnings. The portfolio effect of maintaining five businesses in diverse markets and the continued focus of the group on further increasing returns on its investments means that the board remains confident of maintaining its track record of year-on-year increases in profitability in 2016," said Chief Executive Stewart Davies.
Augean shares were up 6.8% to 47.00p Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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