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May Gurney secured £314m of new work and contract extensions in the first half of 2012, up from £290m in the corresponding period last year. Group revenue rose 4.0% to £338.9m, compared to £324.7m in the corresponding period last year. Margaret Ford, Chairman of May Gurney, said: "May Gurney's first-half performance was in line with our revised expectations. We have taken steps to reinforce commercial disciplines and the plans we put in place to address the operational issues we announced in September are on track. As expected, the process to resolve the two MaGOS environmental services contracts is complex, and will continue well into next year."

Underlying profits at support services provider May Gurney fell to 1.1m pounds in the first half of 2012, compared to 14.5m pounds in the corresponding period last year, according to the group's interim results published on Tuesday. The results, which cover the half year ending September 30th, showed a reduction in underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and overall operating margin, although the company posted £314m of new business. Underlying EBITDA was £12.6m, compared to £14.7m in the first half of 2011 and the group's overall operating margin was 3.7%, compared to 4.5% a year earlier. The decline in operating margin was connected to a number of factors, including poor weather over the summer and underwhelming performance from two environmental services contracts. The group's surface dressing operations were negatively affected by poor weather and a short-term downturn in rail services. In addition, provisions for SGN's reduction in outsourcing and poor performance of two MaGOS environmental services contracts contributed to the operating margin decline.

Acquisition The company further announced that it had acquired a 28% stake in Indian exhibition business ABEC by its wholly owned subsidiary Airgate Holdings Ltd. The acquisition, which is worth the equavalent of £14m payable in cash upon completion, will be funded from existing cash resources and agreed debt facilities. ABEC generated profits of INR 140m (£1.6m) in the year ending 31 March 2012 and had gross assets of INR 1,724 (£20m) at completion. It runs 19 exhibitions across a variety of markets including construction, architecture and lifestyle. Commenting on the minority acquisition, Taylor added: "ABEC has a quality portfolio of events with strong market positions in sectors where ITE has an established presence such as construction, oil and gas and security. ABEC's events in the construction and design sector total more than 65,000m2 net of sold exhibition space, giving ITE an interest in India's dominant trade shows for this growing sector."

Broker comment Investec reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock today, hailing a decent performance in a tough year. Full-year profit before tax and earnings per share were slightly ahead of estimates, Investec said, in spite of "acquisition consolidation, Mosbuild [its construction event] competition and biennial negative skew." Analyst Steve Liechti said: "Shares de-rated on adverse FX, but look attractive given B2B exhibition growth/strategic positioning." He said that the valuation - the stock is trading at 11.4 times current-year earnings - is now at the low end versus its B2B peers.

Revenue rose 11 per cent to 172m pounds year-on-year at conference and exhibition organiser ITE Group, according to the company's preliminary results which were published this morning. Headline profits edged up 3% to £53m while the company announced that £95m of revenue had been booked for 2013. Russell Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of ITE Group, commented: "ITE has delivered record results in its lesser biennial year. This reflects the strength and breadth of our market leading events portfolio and a first time contribution from the acquisitions." He added that the major impact on the group's results had come from ITE's premier construction event, Mosbuild, which represents one third of ITE's exhibition business in Moscow. "Following a decision by its host venue to launch its own competitive event in the construction sector, ITE had in 2011 made the decision to re-locate Mosbuild to another venue which offered more secure terms for its future. The results this year reflect the financial impact of this upheaval but also underpin the strength and resilience of this event. Mosbuild in underlying terms stayed broadly the same size - despite facing the dual challenges of re-location and new competition."

Although turnover within the Fuel Solutions division was down 10% compared to the same period last year, it operated at a reduced loss level and a monthly profit was achieved in September and October 2012. Vianet expects this "solid progress" to continue into the second half. The Leisure Solutions division, which Dickson said he is "really pleased" with, continued to generate strong operational cash flow with £3.2m in the six month period on the back of strong trading. It delivered 716 new installations during the half year. The group is particularly excited about its recent investment in the US, and believes this provides "an excellent platform" to grow activities relating to the iDraught monitoring system. As part of this, it has formed an alliance with Micro Matic for the installation, service and sales support of iDraught technology. Looking ahead, the company said that the economic environment remains challenging, the business remains robust: "Our tools help markets improve margins, so in challenging times demand increases." It added: "Whilst the overall economic environment may remain constrained for some time, the board is confident that the medium to long term strategy is the appropriate one and that the group is capable of delivering consistent and sustained growth.

Vianet Group, an AIM-listed company which provides real time monitoring systems and data management services for the leisure and forecourt services sectors, has said that it believes it is in a good position following a period of progress across all divisions. In line with management expectations, during the six months ended September 30th revenue declined slightly from £11.79m to £11.19m, while pre-tax profit dropped from £1.62m to £1.26m. The reduction to turnover was mainly attributed to the group's withdrawal from low margin, labour intensive beer volume recovery service activity for pub companies, and a reduction in lower margin activity in the Fuel Solutions division. It said that on a consolidated basis, recurring revenue across the group was approximately 70%, and almost 80% in the leisure business. In an interview with Sharecast and Digital Look, the company's Chief Executive Officer, James Dickson, said that the board is "reasonably happy" with the performance and said the group is "moving in the right direction". The group's Vending Solutions division consolidated its performance and said it was close to breakeven, despite delays to starting a major contract. The group has seen the development of new sales opportunities in the market.

Positive Points: In the US, two bolt-on acquisitions were completed during the period: Davis and Warshow, a Blended Branches business based in New York, and Power Equipment Direct an online retailer of generators and power equipment, for a total consideration of £80 million. After the reporting period in November, Wolseley agreed to acquire 22 Burdens branches, a leading supplier of drainage and civil engineering products in the UK. The deal is subject to Office of Fair Trading approval. Cash generation remains a key focus for the group, with an emphasis on protecting margins and improving operational efficiencies. The company has benefited from the housing market in the US, which has continued to show signs of a recovery this year, following the 2007-2009 recession. A final ordinary dividend of £115 million was paid on 30 November 2012 with the group paying a special dividend of £350 million due on 31 December 2012.

Negative Points: Movements in foreign exchange rates reduced revenue by £81 million and trading profit by £4 million in the quarter. Competition across the group's markets remains intense. A strategic review of the group's struggling French arm is ongoing, after the business registered its third consecutive quarter of revenue declines. The statement said the group's operating expenses included a £3 million one-off insurance charge. Along with its peers, Wolseley is exposed to the overall health of the housing and renovation market. House price inflation and housing transactions are key drivers of demand. Improved credit and mortgage availability would provide the industry with a boost, both in new housing and renovation

Financial Highlights: Wolseley reported a trading profit up 7.6% at £198 million. Revenue in the three months to 31 October was reported as £3.33 billion (2011- £3.29 billion). Robust cash generation saw net debt reduce to £87 million (2011 - £523 million).

First quarter interim statement: Wolseley generates good growth in the US. The world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products, Wolseley Plc continued its strong growth in the US and Canada in the latest quarter. The company, which generates more than half its revenue in the US, posted a 7.6% rise in trading profit to £198 million, up from £185 million in the same period last year. However, revenues declined in Continental Europe as a result of continuing tough market conditions, particularly in the Nordics (down 4.8%) and France (down 8.2%) compounded by unfavourable currency movements. In the current macroeconomic environment, management said it is working hard to protect gross margins and to drive further operating efficiencies to protect profitability. With the challenging market conditions in Continental Europe in mind, the company said it had approved restructuring projects with associated charges of £33 million. Wolseley will issue its interim results on Tuesday 26 March 2013.

Company overview Wolseley plc is a major international specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. The group has around 41,000 employees and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.

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