* Says contract could be worth up to 322 mln stg
* Expected contribution from test centre work unchanged
* 12 months contract with option to extend for another 6
(Adds analyst comment, shares, detail, background)
By Yadarisa Shabong
June 28 (Reuters) - Serco has won a contract worth
up to 322 million pounds ($447 million) to continue supporting
Britain's much-criticised COVID-19 test-and-trace programme, the
outsourcing company said on Monday.
The scheme, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged would
be world-beating when he launched it with a 22 billion pound
budget in May 2020, has repeatedly missed targets, with some
critics saying the government should not use private firms.
The contract covers services such as site operations,
cleaning and security to around 20% of test sites in England and
Northern Ireland, including a mix of drive-through and walk-in
testing centres, as well as mobile testing units, Serco said.
The company's previous contract was for about 25% of sites.
"We are delighted that the DHSC (Department of Health and
Social Care) has selected us to continue to support them in
providing these services for at least the next twelve months,"
Serco Chief Executive Rupert Soames said.
The test-and trace scheme oversees testing of people who
think they have COVID-19, and then tracing the contacts of those
who test positive to require them to isolate in an effort to
break transmission of the disease.
Parliament's spending watchdog said on Friday the scheme had
improved, but was still missing targets and the results of
millions of tests to find asymptomatic cases had not been
reported.
Britain has the highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe and is
seeing a surge in cases driven by the new Delta variant of the
virus, although an advanced vaccinations campaign has kept
hospitalisations and deaths far below previous infection waves.
Serco earlier this month raised its 2021 profit forecast in
part thanks to its work on COVID-19 services. It did not change
its forecast on Monday following the contract win.
"We expect that the margin is slightly below group average,
but in line with expectations," Liberum analysts said.
"However, there is some benefit from the fact that the new
contracts is for nearly all the same sites as before, reducing
the need for mobilisation costs."
Shares in Serco were up 1.3% in morning trade.
($1 = 0.7193 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru
Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)
Mitie (MTO)
Serco (SRP)
