Financial highlights
| Continuing operations - underlying |
September 2013 |
September 2012 |
Change |
|
Revenue |
£1,700.6m |
£1,556.7m |
+ 9% |
|
Operating profit |
£172.8m |
£158.4m |
+ 9% |
|
Profit before tax |
£141.7m |
£121.2m |
+ 17% |
|
Basic earnings per share |
31.6p |
27.9p |
+ 13% |
|
Continuing and discontinued operations basic earnings per share |
31.6p |
28.1p |
+ 12% |
| Continuing operations - statutory | |||
|
Revenue |
£1,583.6m |
£1,450.3m |
+ 9% |
|
Operating profit |
£113.3m |
£93.2m |
+ 22% |
|
Profit before tax |
£105.9m |
£80.4m |
+ 32% |
|
Basic earnings per share |
25.6p |
20.2p |
+ 27% |
|
Continuing and discontinued operations basic earnings per share |
25.6p |
15.4p |
+ 66% |
|
|
|||
|
Net debt |
£572.2m |
£581.1m |
|
|
Net debt/ebitda annualised (including jvs) |
1.4 x |
1.6 x |
|
|
Half year dividend |
6.90p |
6.30p |
|
|
Order book |
£12.0bn |
£12.5bn |
Operational highlights
Strong growth in revenue and profit
9% organic growth in underlying revenue (excluding the effect of foreign exchange movements)
8% organic growth in underlying operating profit (excluding the effect of foreign exchange movements)
Order book maintained at £12 billion (14 May 2013: £12 billion) providing excellent visibility of future revenue streams
Bid pipeline stable at £15.5 billion (14 May 2013: £15.5 billion) - significant long-term growth opportunities being progressed
Cash conversion of 106%
Board's confidence in future growth prospects reflected in 10% increase in half year dividend to 6.9 pence per share.
Peter Rogers, Chief Executive commented
"Babcock performed well in the first half of the year. We delivered strong growth in revenue and profit with all our divisions moving ahead and fuelling further increases in shareholder value. The continued buoyancy of our order book and bid pipeline reflects both the strength of our markets, where budget-constrained public and private sector customers demand suppliers that can deliver maintained or enhanced value-for-money solutions, and our clear leadership of the UK engineering support services industry.
"We have excellent revenue visibility and our business model, operational scale, wide-ranging experience, track record and powerful balance sheet mean that we are well placed to generate further growth this year and in the longer-term future."
