Profit rise for Augean
A STRONGER second half has helped hazardous waste company Augean grow its pre-tax profit by a respectable 9%.
The Wetherby-based firm, which in January said it was in takeover discussions, which “may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company”, saw pre-tax profits rise to £4m for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to £3.7m the year before.
Revenue excluding landfill tax rose by 61% in the period to £36.3m while cash flow went up by 51% to £11.6m (£7.7m in 2007). Net debt fell £3.4m to £16.8m.
Augean said that significant contract wins in the second half and record hazardous tonnages in its landfill division had helped boost performance.
However, it fell slightly short of financial forecasts as a result of the continuing economic downturn.
It said that the waste solutions and technology market was still evolving and to maintain its market leading position it was spending “considerable time” reviewing new technologies being trialled to identify which ones will improve its services and attract new revenue streams.
Included in that strategy is the first phase construction of a waste recovery park at Port Clarence on Teesside and upgrading of Augean’s Cannock facility.
Augean has also entered into an exclusive aggrement with MECO for the termal recovery process, which will provide services to the refinery and oil and gas markets.
The group recently started an application to gain authorisation to receive waste streams from large government decommissioning projects.
Not all of Augean’s divisions are performing well however with Terramundo – a joint venture between Augean and DEC NV – continuing to struggle to deliver volumes into a soil treatment centre.
It also suffered from the deployment of company resources to an Olympic site project in Stratford.
Augean said that the future of the business was extremely important. It added that the Terramundo model, based on achieving planning and permitting consent to operate the treatment facility next to hazardous landfill, would further enhance the group’s position as it results in effective treatment and disposal of the residues, which will enable growth in market share.
Commenting on the results, Augean chief executive Paul Blackler said: “2008 saw another year of growth and development for Augean, with strong cash generation and growth in revenues and profit.
“We secured significant contracts for hazardous waste streams with our construction and infrastructure clients and have continued to do so into the current financial year.”
He continued: “The current global recession has affected all businesses and Augean is not alone in feeling the impact from the downturn in markets. The board believes however, that the business is positioned to provide unique solutions to the hazardous waste market and is focused on managing the group to ensure the best possible operation in these challenging times.”
