Northbridge on acquisition hunt after profit leap
Northbridge Industrial Services has declared it is actively seeking out acquisition targets after posting a 41 per cent hike in pre-tax profit this morning (29 September 2011). The Burton-upon-Trent company also said its international operations were strengthening as it hit profits of £2m before tax.
Alongside a jump in profit, Northbridge, which specialises in providing industrial services and rental equipment, also posted a boosted turnover this morning. It climbed from £7.8m in 2010 to £11.4m for the first six months of 2011.
However, the company said its Northbridge Middle East subsidiary had experienced a slowdown in major projects over the first half of the year as some of its marine conversion customers moved to the Far East.
Northbridge was forced to terminate its Middle Eastern Jabal Salab Zinc project last year after it was harshly affected by the economic downturn.
However, the company said it had invested in start-up operations in the USA, France and Singapore over the past few months, and integrated its July 2010 acquisition Tasman Oil Tools.
The company reported a 28 per cent improvement in the underlying sales of manufactured units over the six months, and added that 60 per cent of its revenue now came from hire activities.
Through its half-year report released this morning, Northbridge added it would "seek suitable businesses for acquisition across the world", having established operations in the UK, Dubai, Azerbaijan and Australia after successfully buying international companies.
Eric Hook, chief executive of Northbridge, said: "We are encouraged by the group's development and the improvement in trading in the majority of our operations.
"Although the economic environment has slowed during the second half of the year we remain confident that the demand for our specialist equipment and continuing investment in our rental fleet will ensure that progress is maintained."
"In line with our stated strategy we are still actively looking for further acquisitions to support our worldwide growth and we have both cash and additional borrowing capacity to take advantage of suitable opportunities as they arise."
