Aggreko powers ahead

TEMPORARY power provider Aggreko expects first-half profit to rise as its international power division continues to grow, but said growth would likely slow in the second half.

Aggreko, which rents out generators, air conditioners and cooling towers, said it expected pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of June to grow by around 15 per cent, with revenue up some five per cent in constant currency terms, excluding fuel costs.

“Nearly all of our growth in the first half came from international power projects, which provide temporary power stations to utilities in Africa, Asia and South America, but the growth rate will slow in the second-half,” said chief executive Rupert Soames. “We had thought for some time that the local business would get tougher but it has been remarkably robust and we now expect it to get tougher over the course of the year.”

Shares in Aggreko, which have lost a fifth of their value in the last year, closed at 492p valuing the group at around £1.34bn.

Aggreko, which powers events around the world including the Olympic Games and the Superbowl, reported a pretax profit of £67.9m on sales of £407.7m in the first-half.