Engineering group Kentz says it expects an even better 2014 after seeing profits rise by 12% for 2013.
The group, which recently picked up another lucrative oilfield contract in the Middle East, saw off takeover attempts last year to see revenues up 6% to £1billion. Pre-tax profits were up 12.6% to £71.6million.
The figures come as the company targets increased growth for 2014, having started the year with the takeover of US firm Valerus and an order backlog increase of 58% to £2.5billion.
Since the end of 2013, the company has already secured contracts in Iraq, the USA and on the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia.
“2013 was another period of major success for Kentz and represents a key milestone in our growth strategy,” said chief executive Christian Brown.
“We delivered on our target for double digit earnings growth and completed the acquisition of Valerus Field Solutions on 3 January 2014, which significantly enhances both our service offering and geographical footprint.
“We have secured an even stronger future for our business with the current backlog of US$4.1bn. Our pipeline of prospects continues to grow, increasing 18% during 2013, highlighting the opportunities that exist for our services in our core markets of the Middle East, Africa and Australasia.
“We forecast that 2014 performance will be ahead of our previous expectations with all three business units expected to perform strongly”.
The Jersey-registered group, which has no central headquarters, was the target of takeover bids from Amec and Austrian engineering group M+W last year.
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