G4S posts 20 per cent rise in profit

SECURITY services group G4S reported a 20 per cent rise in full-year profit, helped by growth in new markets and government contracts.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Mar 2010, 08:25 BST

The company expects public and private sector bodies to outsource more work in 2010.

G4S, which provides services ranging from cash transportation and facilities management to security and protection, posted a pre-tax profit of 417.1m for 2009 on revenues 18 per cent higher at 7bn.

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Market expectations for 2009 pre-tax profit had ranged from between 293m and 416m with the consensus at 372.6m.

The company, which with 595,000 employees claims to be the biggest private-sector employer in the world after US supermarket chain Wal-Mart said it would pay a final dividend of 4.16 pence, making a total dividend 7.18 pence, 11.7 per cent up on last year.

The Anglo-Danish company, which provides security and protection in war-zones, parliament buildings and airports, said it expected organic growth in 2010 to be broadly similar to 2009.

Shares in G4S, which have risen 9 per cent in the last month, closed at 278.6p on Monday, valuing the group at around 4bn.