The stockmarket continues to be highly volatile as a result of the terrorist attack on the US and the retaliatory reactions now in progress. Worries of recession in the Western world have not subsided despite the efforts of the central banks, which have co-ordinated successive rounds of interest rate cuts to combat negative sentiment.
Temporary slowdown
As more outsourcing companies kick in with their results it can be seen that there has been a temporary slowdown in public sector work caused by the last general election.
Amey sees a 40 per cent rise
Amey, the outsourcing group, surprised the market with a 40 per cent rise in half-year profits to £12.9m. New contracts include building schools in Edinburgh, road projects and maintenance work with Railtrack. Profits from public sector work fell from £5.8m to £2.6m due to writing off the costs of unsuccessful bids.
The company is a one-third shareholder in Tubelines, the consortium named preferred bidder for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. Contracts are expected to be signed before the end of the year with work starting in February.
Parkwood is king Crosby bidder
Parkwood Holdings, the support services group, has won an £8m contract to build, finance and operate a leisure centre in Crosby, Merseyside. The contract will net Parkwood annual revenues of around £750,000 for 25 years.
Carillion builds up its PFI book
Carillion, the construction services group, is thrusting into PFI work, which accounts for £2.7bn of its current £4.7bn order book. The firm has kicked in with a pre-tax profit of £9m on turnover of £650m for the half year to end June 2001. This compares with a loss of £9.3 m on turnover of £826m in the same period in the previous year.
Carillion is one of the best punts on the stockmarket for its PFI work, but the shares trade at a discount to Amec and Balfour Beatty due to exceptional hits from further restructuring. Brokers expect pre-tax profits of £45m in the current year.
Source
The Facilities Business