UPDATED: Augean plans to keep growing by acquisition

Stewart Davies, chief executive of Augean

Augean, the specialist waste management group, has posted a healthy rise in full year revenues and plans to keep growing with help from acquisitions.

In 2016, the Wetherby-based company’s total revenue increased by 25 per cent to £76.0m and profit before taxation rose by 16 per cent to £7.0m.

Augean also revealed that its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) increased by 17 per cent to £14.1m.

Augean said it remained committed to growth in all of its businesses and markets, through both organic and acquisitive means.

Dr Stewart Davies, the chief executive, said the group had achieved a number of strategic goals, including securing further contracts with top-tier customers.

He added: “We have seen good momentum across our portfolio of businesses and remain well positioned to take advantage of opportunities across a broad number of sectors.

“The group’s cash generation and balance sheet remain robust and the board remains confident of maintaining its track record of year-on-year increases in profitability in 2017.”

The group said that Augean North Sea services had “traded strongly” in the second half of 2016, with further progress on its diversification objective, including the partnership with Forth Ports for the management of waste arising from the decommissioning of offshore equipment at the Port of Dundee.

The results for radioactive waste services were in line with expectations, although, as previously reported, it had been affected by a sharp reduction in volumes from UK nuclear decommissioning, the company said in a statement to accompany the results.