James Fisher and Sons Regulatory News (FSJ)

21 August 2012

James Fisher and Sons plc

Interim Results 2012

James Fisher and Sons plc ("James Fisher"), the leading marine service provider, announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2012.

* underlying profit excludes costs incurred in making acquisitions and the amortisation of acquired intangibles.

Key Points:

·; Group revenue up 27%, underlying profit up 21%

·; Robust growth in Specialist Technical, particularly in Asia and Africa

·; Offshore Oil benefitted from increased demand in regions such as Brazil and the Norwegian North Sea

·; BP Angola contract mobilised and operating well

·; Completed Swedish navy submarine rescue vehicle refurbishment

·; Marine Oil, despite subdued markets, posted improved results

·; Cash conversion of 105% and net gearing reduced to 72% at 30 June 2012 (2011: 83%)

·; Interim dividend increased by 10%

·; Charles Rice appointed as non-executive Chairman following the retirement of Tim Harris

Commenting on the results Nick Henry, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"James Fisher has made good progress during the period, maintaining the double-digit growth rates achieved in both revenue and profit in 2011.

The high growth rate achieved in the first half reflect a number of major contract deliveries and should not therefore be extrapolated into the second half. Nevertheless, James Fisher remains on a healthy growth path which provides confidence for the future. The company is trading to management expectations to date in the second half and continues to be well placed to deliver further value to our shareholders."

For further information:

James Fisher and Sons plc ("James Fisher")

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2012

Chairman's Statement

Introduction

I am pleased to present my first report as Chairman of James Fisher following the retirement of Tim Harris in July 2012. The result for the first half of 2012 showed strong growth with revenue up 27% to £188.3 million, underlying profit up 21% to £17.1 million and adjusted earnings per share up 16% to 26.4p, all compared with H1 2011. Cash flow was healthy, with cash conversion of 105% and financial gearing further reduced to 72% compared to 83% at the half year in 2011. The interim dividend has been increased by 10% to 5.87p per share.

Strategy

James Fisher is the UK's leading marine service company and continues to follow a consistent strategy of utilising its core marine skills to develop niche service businesses targeting the vast global marine services market. Growth has been mainly centred on the world's fastest growing regions, such as Asia Pacific, rather than the more mature markets of Europe and North America.

These skills consist of specialist engineering and operational capabilities which characteristically command net margins in excess of 10% and returns on capital employed of at least 15% pre tax and are cash generative.

Having strengthened our contract development team, the Group is benefiting from the breadth of niche services now offered to find new opportunities for larger integrated service packages to major global customers in the offshore oil and gas sectors.

Specialist Technical

H1 2012 divisional result £10.6m (H1 2011 £9.1m)

The mooring and ship to ship oil transfer services have continued to produce strong organic growth, particularly in Asia and Africa. We commenced a significant contract for BP in Angola in H1 and, as expected, this has resulted in strong growth in turnover but at lower margins due to a high proportion of sub-contracted costs, with the three vessels in use on the contract being chartered in. This contract was not expected to be profitable in the first half due to mobilisation costs but the division benefited from a short term diving contract which was not anticipated.

Part of the organic growth in the division is being driven by contract wins in subsea operations which combine the vessel management and diving operations skills of both the Specialist Technical and Defence divisions of the Group. The Company sees good opportunities for growth in this area.

Our nuclear business had a strong first half, reflecting the improved business environment in the nuclear decommissioning market and the increased scale and capability of this business unit. The nuclear business also benefited from the completion of a major equipment and installation contract to the London 2012 Olympics.

Offshore Oil

H1 2012 divisional result £7.8m (H1 2011 £5.9m)

The strong increase in profits reflected the benefit of the new capital invested in this business which has enabled the group companies involved to expand their geographical presence into new growth markets around the world. This was combined with a strong performance in the North Sea, with the Norwegian market in particular showing improved activity levels.

Capital investment continues to be made in new equipment to support further contract gains in locations such as Brazil.

Defence

H1 2012 divisional result £2.0m (H1 2011 £2.7m)

As previously highlighted, profit from the Group's interest in the Foreland private finance initiative (PFI) reduced by approximately £0.7m in the first half due to lower charter income on two of the six vessels covered by the contract. The Ministry of Defence has reviewed its strategic sealift capability and has concluded that its ongoing requirement is for four vessels. The changes resulting from this review will be on terms that will protect the Foreland partners from the costs arising from this early reduction in the size of the contract.

The division's subsea operations performed satisfactorily in the first half, with the completion of the refurbishment contract for the Swedish navy's submarine rescue vehicle (URF). The submarine rescue support contracts for the Singapore and the Australian navies continued to perform satisfactorily, with a major rescue exercise for the Australian navy being completed in the first half.

Marine Oil

H1 divisional result £1.2m (H1 2011 £0.9m)

While conditions in the UK and Irish markets continued to be subdued, reflecting weak economic conditions, the division posted a modest improvement in its trading result. This reflected an improved match between fleet capacity and contract business following the disposal of two ships in 2011 as well some strengthening of spot market rates for these small, specialist vessels.

Change of Chairman

Tim Harris retired as Chairman on 31 July 2012 after over ten years in this role. Under his leadership, the company has seen its fortunes transformed, with profit and turnover quadrupled and the share price standing at over seven times the level of 2002. During that time, Tim was successful in reshaping the Group from a small coastal tanker and specialist shipping business into the UK's leading marine service company. Tim left a company confident of its future, with a stable and well proven strategy and an experienced and successful management team. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Tim for his great contribution both to the Company and to all the staff and shareholders who have benefited from the transformation in the Company's fortunes.

Staff

The rapid growth of the Company and the increasingly international spread of its operations have placed heavy demands on many managers and staff throughout the Group. Having visited all the major operating centres within Europe in the last three months, I have been struck by the enthusiasm and optimism which I have encountered at all levels in the business. May I thank everyone involved for the commitment which they bring to their work and which contributes to the continued success of James Fisher.

Outlook

The strong result in the first half is further testament to the Company's strategy of applying its core marine skills to the vast and fast growing markets of Asia and the developing world. There continue to be good prospects across all the service divisions to drive further organic growth. The company also remains alert for possible bolt-on acquisitions which can reinforce the market position and growth prospects of its businesses.

The Specialist Technical division is leading the expansion into Asia, Australia, Africa and South America. The BP contract in Angola has completed its mobilisation phase and is working well operationally. The nuclear business continues to strengthen its scale and market position but its result in the first half benefited from a one-off contract for the London 2012 Olympics. The company remains confident about the future prospects for the division to produce further growth.

The Offshore Oil division is seeing the benefits of strong demand for its niche capabilities both within the North Sea and, more particularly, overseas in countries such as Brazil which presents attractive new opportunities for the Group.

The Defence division is well placed in its niche subsea market and is positioned for growth in its submarine rescue and swimmer delivery vehicle segments. However, the completion of the URF contract in August and the reduction in the size of the Foreland contract means that this business is likely to report a slow second half.

The high growth rates achieved in the first half reflect a number of major contract deliveries and should not therefore be extrapolated into the second half. Nevertheless, James Fisher remains on a healthy growth path which provides confidence for the future.

The Company is trading to management expectations to date in the second half and continues to be well placed to deliver further value to our shareholders.

Charles Rice

20 August 2012

Directors' Responsibilities

We confirm to the best of our knowledge:

The interim financial report has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" as adopted by the European Union.

The interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by:

(a) DTR 4.2.7R of the "Disclosure and Transparency Rules", being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year; and

(b) DTR 4.2.8R of the "Disclosure and Transparency Rules", being related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the current financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the entity during the period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.

C J Rice

Chairman

S C Kilpatrick

Group Finance Director

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors

20 August 2012

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

for the six months ended 30 June 2012

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

for the six months ended 30 June 2012

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

at 30 June 2012

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW

for the six months ended 30 June 2012

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF MOVEMENTS IN EQUITY

for the six months ended 30 June 2012

NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS

1 Basis of preparation

James Fisher and Sons plc (the Company) is a limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales and whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The condensed consolidated interim financial statements of the Company for the six months ended 30 June 2012 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the Group) and the Group's interests in jointly controlled entities.

After making enquires, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the condensed consolidated financial statements.

The Group meets its day to day working capital requirements through operating cash flows, with borrowings in place to fund acquisitions and capital expenditure. Movements on the Group's overall net debt position are shown in note 5. The Group also has £43,449,000 of undrawn committed facilities. This includes £7,769,000 of facilities which expire on 11 August 2012.

The Group has two £20,000,000 revolving credit facilities due for renewal in 2013, both of which end on 31 January 2013. The Group had drawn down £5,000,000 of these facilities at 30 June 2012. Renewal negotiations will be opened with the banks in due course and the Group has not sought any written commitment that the facilities will be renewed. However, the Group has held discussions with its bankers about its future borrowing needs and no matters have been drawn to its attention to suggest the renewals would not be forthcoming on acceptable terms.

The consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2011 are available upon request from the Company's registered office at Fisher House, PO Box 4, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 1HR or at www.james-fisher.co.uk.

The interim financial information is presented in Sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds (£000) except when otherwise indicated.

Statement of compliance

The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" as adopted by the European Union (EU). As required by the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority, the condensed consolidated set of financial statements has been prepared applying the accounting policies and presentation that were applied in the preparation of the Company's published consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2011 with the exceptions described below. They do not include all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2011.

The comparative figures for the financial year ended 31 December 2011 are not the Company's statutory accounts for that financial year. Those accounts which were prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the EU (adopted IFRS), have been reported on by the Company's auditors and delivered to the Registrar of companies. The report of the auditors was (i) unqualified; (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report, and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The interim report was approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 20 August 2012.

Significant accounting policies

The accounting policies applied by the Group in these condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those applied by the Group in its consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 31 December 2011.

2 Accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expense. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The significant judgements made by management in applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty were the same as those applied to the consolidated financial statements and for the year ended 31 December 2011.

3 Segmental information

Management has determined the operating segments based on the reports reviewed by the Board that are utilised to make strategic decisions. The Board considers the business primarily from the products and services perspective and has four reportable segments:

Specialist Technical Services - includes the hire and sale of large scale pneumatic fenders and ship to ship transfer services, the design and supply of systems for monitoring strains and stress in structures and equipment and non-destructive testing, decommissioning and remote operations and monitoring services predominantly to the nuclear industry.

Offshore Oil Services - manufacture and rental of equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry and the design and manufacture of specialist downhole tools and equipment for extracting oil.

Defence - provision of marine services to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and other navies including UK submarine rescue services, maintenance, asset management and consultancy services, a joint venture which provides military strategic sealift capability via its operation of six roll-on-roll-off vessels for the MoD, and a joint venture which provides submarine rescue services to the Government of Singapore.

Marine Oil Services - engaged in the sea transportation of clean petroleum products in North West Europe.

The Board assesses the performance of the segments based on operating profit before central common costs, acquisition costs and amortisation of acquired intangible assets but after the Group's share of the post tax results of associates and joint ventures. The Board believes that such information is the most relevant in evaluating the results of certain segments relative to other entities which operate within these industries. The income statement and segmental analysis for June 2011 has been restated to include amortisation related to acquired intangibles to be consistent with that presented at 31 December 2011. Inter segmental sales are made using prices determined on an arms length basis.