Acquisitive manufacturer upbeat with results ahead
Avingtrans, which designs, manufactures and supplies original equipment to the energy and medical sectors, said this morning it expects turnover, operating and pre-tax profits to be ahead of market expectations after a year of “excellent trading progress”.
In an update on its performance for the year to the end of May, the company, which has several operations across the West Midlands, expects to report turnover of around £104m and an operating profit of around £5.8m (pre-exceptionals), being approximately 18% ahead of expectations.
Avingtrans expects to report profit before tax (pre-exceptionals) of c.£5.2m; c.21% ahead of expectations.
The group said it has seen sustained development and improvement in performance of the Hayward Tyler business, acquired in September 2017, throughout the year.
The engineered pumps and motors division (EPM) has secured a number of key contracts, including over $3m to provide high temperature molten salt pumps in September 2018; a £10m contract with Vattenfall in Sweden for nuclear life extension equipment, won in February 2019 and over $6m to provide critical pumps and spare parts to nuclear reactors in the US and South Korea in April 2019.
As part of the division’s global business strategy and to support continued growth, Avingtrans opened a factory in Kunshan, China in January 2019.
Avingtrans continues to benefit elsewhere from the integration of Hayward Tyler, with Peter Brotherhood securing an order to supply steam turbines for a Floating Production Vessel worth £10m in March 2019 and joint initiatives between Peter Brotherhood and Metalcraft resulting in a contract with a UK Government agency worth £5m in June 2018.
Other large contracts have progressed, including further deliveries to Sellafield.
Avingtrans added a number of bolt-on acquisitions in the year, including Tecmag, Inc. in October 2018; while in June 2019, the company announced the acquisition of Bolton-based Booth Industries, a leading UK engineering company, from the administrators of AIM-quoted Redhall Group.
Avingtrans this week acquired US-based Energy Steel & Supply Co. (Energy Steel), a manufacturer of machined products and components to the civil nuclear power industry, for $1m.
The company said: “Avingtrans anticipates that these acquisitions, when taken together, will positively impact the group’s revenue forecast for FY20, with the impact on profitability expected to deliver in FY21 and beyond.”
