Mitie profit in line, upbeat as order book swells

OUTSOURCING firm Mitie posted a dip in full-year profit before tax and other items but said it was upbeat about growth prospects in the coming year as governments and businesses seek to cut costs and secure energy supply.

Mitie, which provides catering, cleaning and maintenance services for clients like Vodafone, Tesco, and the British government, today said underlying profit before tax and other items for the year to March 31 was £104.5m, down 1.1 per cent from last year and broadly in line with analyst forecasts.

Excluding the impact of other items, such as acquisition and reorganisation costs, profit before tax rose 8.9 per cent to £94.5m, on revenues that rose 5.9 per cent to just over £2bn.

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Mitie, which acquired energy and carbon consultancy Utilyx early this year, said energy services generated 34 per cent of revenues in 2012.

The firm, which is bidding to run nine prisons in a joint venture with Britain’s prison service - a new market for the group - said its outlook was robust and it expected growth to continue as cost saving pressures bring more public sector opportunities to the table.

The group said its order book stood at £8.6bn, up 26 per cent from 2011 and a record for the firm, while its pipeline of bid opportunities slipped to £11.2bn from £11.4bn a year ago.

The group, which increased its dividend by 6.7 per cent to 9.6 pence a share, added that 83 per cent of its 2012/13 budgeted revenue had been secured. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm closed at 271.7 pence on Friday.

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