Aveva warns of tough trading as profits surge
ENGINEERING software group Aveva beat market expectations yesterday for full-year revenue and profits thanks to growth in its marine, oil and gas and power markets, but warned of tough trading conditions.
Aveva – which makes the three-dimensional software used to design ships, oil rigs, nuclear power stations and chemical plants – reported a 29 per cent rise in revenue to £164m, and a pre-tax profit of £59.2m.
It said the economic slowdown and the lower oil price and shipping rates were causing some projects to be postponed or cancelled, but its restructuring programme would help it trade through tough times.
The group, which had £126.2m of net cash at year-end, said it would pay a final dividend of 6.5p, 30 per cent higher than the pay-out a year ago.
Analysts expected revenue of £159.5m and adjusted pre-tax profit of £61.9m for the year to end-March, according to a company-supplied consensus of 17 analysts.
Chief executive Richard Longdon said: “Our concerns are largely short-term based around potentially the oil price and the availability of funding. Although talking to the customers that situation certainly hasn’t got any worse since 16 April.”