Cape Posts Annual Pre-tax Loss 6 Mar 2013 14:58
Cape reported a pre-tax loss of £140.1m for the year, compared to a profit of £61.9m last year.
A charge for exceptional items of 150.4 million pounds was made in 2012, consisting primarily of 123.7 million pounds relating to the impairment of goodwill and assets in the continuing Onshore Australian business and 18.8 million pounds as a consequence of implementing a more prudent approach to accounting estimates.
Excluding items, pre-tax profit plunged to 23.8 million pounds from 69.4 million pounds in the previous year.
Loss attributable to owners of the company was 200.8 million pounds or 167.0 pence per share, compared to a profit of 47.4 million pounds or 38.8 pence per share last year. Revenue from continuing operations grew to 740.4 million pounds from 698.1 million pounds in the prior year.
The directors proposed a final dividend of 9.5 pence per share for 2012, flat with last year.
Looking ahead, the company expects the focus on operational excellence to deliver much improved margins in 2013 compared to 2012, albeit on lower activity levels driven by reduced new construction project awards in 2012.
Despite the subdued order intake in 2012, the group maintains a robust order book, which gives good near-term visibility and the Board is confident of the outlook for the current year.