Cape, which provides support services to the energy and natural resources sectors, reported mixed trading conditions in the first quarter of 2016 with margins lower than expected but with “solid” order intake and revenue.
Its order book at the close of quarter one was £862 million, slightly above the £861 million reported in the final three months of 2015.
Operating profit was below expectations due to the pressure on margins, Cape said.
“Downward pressure on margins in the UK was largely driven by costs at the Fawley site continuing to run at a level higher than expected and lower utilisation of our specialist services in the North Sea. MENA margins were adversely impacted by delays in project initiation in Oman and pricing pressures in the UAE and Qatar,” it added.
The company benefited from foreign exchange movements and a faster than expected ramp up on the Wheatstone project in Australia.
Middle East and North Africa margins were adversely impacted by delays in project initiation in Oman and pricing pressures in the UAE and Qatar, however its Saudi business has continued to perform strongly, with both volume and margin higher than expectations.
Asia Pacific benefited from a significant ramp up in revenues at Wheatstone which partly offset the adverse effect of project demobilisation costs and reduced volumes across many of the Asian businesses.
Cape said its expectations for the full year remain unchanged. It expects to announce its results for the half year ending 3 July 2016 on 23 August 2016.