The increase in revenue and profit means a 10% interim dividend increase for shareholders.
Companies: Costain Group PLC
Costain (LON: COST) have released their interim report today, with the market reacting favourably to the news of an increase in revenue and profit.
Comparing H1 17 to the same period last year, the engineering company saw a rise in underlying revenue of 11% and a spike in underlying operating profit of 34%. Underlying EPS also rose 21% to 14.4p. Net cash also rose to £87.5 from £69.2 in H1 16.
These figures led to a 10% increase in dividend per share being issued, up to 4.65p.
Staff numbers at Costian are also on the up, with the number of people in consultancy and technology roles increasing to 1300, representing over 30% of the total number of employees.
Liberum's note on Costain this morning said the interims were ahead of their expectations, and the FY EPS and 2017 cash estimate remain unchanged. It is still a recommended Buy.
The order book for the Group is at £3.7b, with 90% of this from return customers, with over £1.5b in revenue secured for FY 17.
CEO Andrew Wyllie CBE, commented on the future of the Group, saying:
"We are transforming rapidly to differentiate Costain as the UK's leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We are delivering technology-based solutions demanded by our clients who are spending billions of pounds, underpinned by legislation and regulation, to meet ever more complex challenges to enhance the nation's infrastructure."
The Board said they expect Costain to deliver results for the year in line with expectations.
With a market cap of £462m, the Group trade at a PE ratio of 12x versus the industry average of 9x. Shareholders have seen share prices more than double in the last 5 years as revenue and operating profits have steadily increased. The dIvidend per share has also risen gradually.
