20 September 2011 – interim results
A strong first half has been recorded by KBC in the six months to 30 June as the energy consultancy group has benefited from pressures in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries. Revenue for the period increased to £26.0m (2010: £25.6m) although underlying pre-tax profits increased by 87% to £2.6m (2010: £1.4m). Earnings per share on the same basis doubled to 3.3p (2010: 1.6p) and the interim dividend is raised to 0.7p (2010: 0.55p). Net cash at the end of the period was £2.7m (31 December 2010: £4.5m) with the fall due to increased working capital requirements for certain projects. Invoicing for these has now begun to catch up with work done and net cash at the end of August was close to £4.0m.
These were solid results and further progress is expected in the second half. The shares remain a BUY.