* H1 profit of 187 mln pounds
* Dividend still on hold
* JPM says strong results in context of crisis
* Shares up 6%
(Adds shares, analyst comment, detail on outlook)
By Yadarisa Shabong
July 23 (Reuters) - Security contractor G4S Plc beat
first-half profit expectations on Thursday and said it expects
increased demand for thermal cameras and screening personnel as
companies reopen after lockdowns, sending its shares 6% higher.
The company, which employs security guards and provides
security camera installations and scanners in airports, reported
an adjusted operating profit of 187 million pounds ($238.35
million), topping the 159 million expected by analysts.
It said, however, it was not ready to resume dividends.
"We are assisting customers around the world with their
COVID-19 return to work assurance programmes," it said, citing
increased demand for thermal cameras, access control and
screening personnel.
G4S, one of the world's largest private security firms
employing more than half a million people in 90 countries, sold
most of its cash-handling operations in February to U.S. peer
Brinks Co to focus on its security business.
Earlier this month, the company said it planned to lay off
some employees at its retained British cash operations to cope
with sliding cash volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adjusted operating profit at its cash business fell by a
third.
On Thursday, the firm said it expected to save 100 million
pounds in 2020 from productivity gains and restructuring.
Profit at its secure solutions rose 1.5% in the six months
to June, as growth in the Americas and Asia countered weakness
in Europe and the Middle East, where the novel coronavirus had
the most impact on the group's business.
"Overall, we see these results as strong in the context of
the COVID-19 crisis," analysts at JPMorgan said.
G4S said the net financial costs of the pandemic for parts
of the business where it received government employment support
was estimated at 20 million pounds to 25 million pounds, largely
because of lost revenues and cost increases.
($1 = 0.7846 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard
Orr and Barbara Lewis)
