Aggreko upbeat after overhaul
Temporary power specialist Aggreko today, which employs people in Ireland and the UK as well as worldwide, said it was in position to improve the performance of its UK business after completing a major restructuring.
The Glasgow-based company, which is currently providing power at Euro 2004 and the US Open golf tournament, has been buoyed by the opening – ahead of schedule - of a new central operations centre at Cannock, Staffordshire.
In a trading statement, Aggreko said disruption from the UK restructuring would be one of the factors for “significantly lower” first-half results in Europe. As well as providing power for events such as the US Superbowl, Aggreko operates a network of depots worldwide.
"The restructuring has not affected the Irish operation, which still employs 17 people - two in the North and the rest in Portlaoise," said general manager of the company's Irish operation Mick McGuirk.
The Portlaoise subsidiary's employees provide rental and sales services.
Depressed market conditions in Benelux and Germany, coupled with the absence of major Spanish utilities contracts in this year’s results, were among the factors blamed Aggreko's weaker European performance.
The group, which employs 2,000 people worldwide, said its overall performance for the year would hinge on its peak summer season as customers hire air conditioning units and other power systems.
Broker Cazenove expects profits for the half-year to June 30 to be £14.5m (€22m) – down from £15.6m (€23.8m) last time – while the company said today that trading across the year was likely to be broadly similar to 2003.
It added: “With the restructuring in the UK largely complete, the team is now able to focus on driving the business forward.”
In North America, where the company has been hit in recent years by oversupply in the market, trading profit in the first half is expected to be above last year, despite the closure or rationalisation of 13 of 56 depots.
The restructuring, which included 200 job cuts, was announced in March at the same time as Aggreko posted a 27% fall in annual profits to £40.1m (€61.1m).
An exceptional charge of £15m (€22.85m) to cover the overhaul will be included in this year’s results, although the company also hopes to achieve annual cost savings in the region of £6m (€9.1m) by 2006.
