Financial Highlights
Diluted EPS increased by 17.3% to 68.07 US¢ (2012: 58.05 US¢)
Revenue up 6% to US$1.66bn (2012: US$1.56bn)
Profit before tax up 12.6% to US$118.0m (2012: US$104.8m)
Profit before tax margin increased to 7.1% (2012: 6.7%)
Gross cash balance up 7.3% to US$246.5m at 31 December 2013 (2012: US$229.8m)
Proposed final dividend of 10.9 US¢ per share; total 2013 dividend payment of 17.5 US¢ per share, up 21% on 2012
Capital structure revised to incorporate a tranche of debt to fund expansion and enhance shareholder returns
Operational Highlights
Backlog increased to US$4.1bn at the end of Feb '14, a 58% increase since Dec 2012 (US$2.6bn) (Dec 2013: US$3.1bn)
Completed the acquisition of Valerus Field Solutions on 3 January 2014 with transition of Valerus into Kentz exceeding expectations
Record levels of bidding undertaken during 2013
Global business unit re-alignment completed to maximise business-winning and operating synergies across the three business units of Engineering and Projects, Construction and Technical Support Services
Pipeline of new business opportunities up 18% to US$15.6bn
Current trading and outlook
Current trading and new business-winning opportunities is further increasing confidence. FY2014 trading is expected to exceed managements previous expectations
Operational performance of Valerus continues to excel in 2014 with high level of business development activities undertaken and approx. US$600m of new bids submitted YTD
Management expects growth across all of Kentz's core geographic markets and all business units in 2014
Improved business-winning in the EPC business unit demonstrated by 30% backlog growth in 2013
New significant contracts awarded since year-end include:
o UGL Kentz JV awarded the structural, mechanical and piping (SMP) package for the Ichthys LNG project in Australia worth approximately US$640m
o Phase 2 of the Moatize coal mining project comprising the structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and piping scope of work
o A US$62m contract win by Valerus to provide the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of two compressor stations for Crestwood Midstream Partners LP
Commenting on the results Christian Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Kentz said:
"2013 was another period of major success for Kentz and represents a key milestone in our growth strategy. We delivered on our target for double digit earnings growth and completed the acquisition of Valerus Field Solutions on 3 January 2014, which significantly enhances both our service offering and geographical footprint.
"We have secured an even stronger future for our business with the current backlog of US$4.1bn. Our pipeline of prospects continues to grow, increasing 18% during 2013, highlighting the opportunities that exist for our services in our core markets of the Middle East, Africa and Australasia. We forecast that 2014 performance will be ahead of our previous expectations with all three business units expected to perform strongly".
