Record order book means its "business as usual" for engineers

ENGINEERING consultancy Ricardo has said it is “business as usual” despite the Brexit vote as it looks forward with the comfort of a record order book.

Last week the manufacturer announced a £35m contract to supply a transmission system for a luxury supercar that will enter production later this year.

It expects profits for its just completed financial year, the 12 months to June, will be in line with expectations and said the business is “well positioned”.

Dave Shemmans, Ricardo’s chief executive, said: “We have ended the year with a strong order intake in the final quarter which sees us entering the new financial year with a record order book.

“Against the backdrop of the EU referendum result it is business-as-usual for Ricardo and we continue with confidence as we look forward to developing and growing our business further in the year ahead.”

It acknowledged that the vote to leave the EU “has clearly caused some uncertainty within the wider market” but it does not expect it to have “any significant impact on our performance”.

Ricardo pointed to “the diversification and international spread of our customers and operations”, while it has received confirmation that the recently-awarded EU research funding through the Horizon 2020 framework will remain in place.