LONDON (ShareCast) - International marine services provider James Fisher reported improved half year earnings and expects momentum to continue into the second half.

The group said underlying profit before tax rose 15% to £19.4m in the six months ended June 30th while revenue grew by 7% to £200.7m. Underlying operating profit increased 11% to £22.2m. Diluted earnings per share increased 9% to 28.3p.

"This strong performance reflected good underlying growth across the businesses as well as a reduction in interest charges following the sale of our TRE subsidiary at the end of last year," the group explained in a company statement.

"Looking forward, we would expect revenue growth for the second half to increase compared with the first, led by our Offshore Oil businesses which are seeing strong demand for their services both in the North Sea and internationally."

"We would also expect a marked improvement in the year-on-year performance of Specialist Technical with our Nuclear and Subsea businesses having won significant new contracts in the first half. By contrast, growth in our Marine Support and Tankships businesses will slow compared with the increases achieved in the first half."

The interim dividend has been increased 10% to 6.46p per share.




CJ

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