Surveillance group to invest in Sheffield

The group said the investment will include a number of new roles at its R&D centre in Sheffield, which currently employs around 40 people.

Synectics said it managed to maintain profits in its oil and gas market by cutting costs following the 2015 collapse in global oil & gas prices.

The firm’s chief executive Paul Webb said: “We originally said we’d see the oil and gas market improving by 2018, but it’s going to take longer.

“Oil and gas was 30 per cent of turnover in 2012/13, but it’s now only 15 per cent of turnover. We are a solidly profitable business now.”

The Sheffield-based firm, which also undertakes ​​million pound projects for surveillance casinos in Asia and Las Vegas, said the global gaming market remains buoyant although it saw a reduction in gaming sector revenue following the exceptionally high level achieved the previous year.

“It’s very lumpy work although there are big projects,” said Mr Webb.

“We had slightly lower revenue in 2017 after some big contracts in 2016. We are pretty confident about 2018, but it will be at a lower level than 2017. We’ve got a very strong market position.”

Synectics said it delivered important new systems and upgrades in the Philippines, Macau, Singapore, Korea, Las Vegas and other casino locations in North America and Europe, as well as substantial sales to several major cruise lines for ship-board gaming. Much of this was repeat business for established customers, in either existing or new locations.

The firm said gaming premises operate in sensitive regulatory environments, where quality and performance standards for surveillance technology are extremely demanding, and where failure can be not only costly, but potentially threatening to the customer’s business itself.

It said the global market for casino-based gaming continues to grow, especially for integrated resorts that combine casinos with other attractions, such as theme parks.

Synectics reported increased demand from infrastructure customers, such as utilities, data centres and transport hubs.

“We’ve been focusing on transport and infrastructure. We’ve seen a reasonably good performance in the UK, but smaller projects,” said Mr Webb.

Synectics said revenue fell by £1m to £70m in the year to November 30. Despite this, underlying profit rose 15 per cent to £3.0 million and pre-tax profit was up 50 per cent to £3m.

The board has recommended a final dividend of 3.0p per share, up from 2.0p the previous year.

Mr Webb said: “These results are pleasing in their own right, and especially satisfying in our 30th Anniversary Year as they reflect the dedication of our people to meet new challenges while remaining true to the values which inspired our company’s creation.”

Synectics expects to grow profits in the current financial year, although increased investment means that profits are likely to be flat this year.

“We won’t see big profit growth in 2018 because we are investing in R&D,” said Mr Webb.

“We are looking at how we can solve problems for our customers, how to create solutions to meet real market needs.”