Centurion Group’s diversification strategy has delivered “record” results for the private-equity backed company headquartered in Aberdeenshire.
In an update on its full-year results for 2023, Dyce-based Centurion confirmed it had completed five “major” acquisitions in the year and said it had over $100m of liquidity to spend on further buy-ups this year.
It added it was “in discussions with a number of acquisition targets” after it expanded its footprint buying firms in sectors outside of its traditional oil and gas focus in Canada, the Netherlands and Western Australia.
Deals included: Canadian water and wastewater firms Blue Drop Solutions, RioView Industries and Whitetail Energy Services; a temporary accommodation business in the Netherlands, Heroult Marine Modules (H2M); and BBB Catering based in Western Australia, another temporary accommodation and site services firm.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA came in at $111m. In December the firm forecast circa $146m before it sold its Canadian and Puerto Rican infrastructure and construction business SITE Resource Group to Canada’s Hillcore for CAD $136m (£76.6m) in a deal that completed in March 2024. The firm’s reported EBIDTA for discontinued operations hit much closer to target at $144.8m.
The adjusted EBITDA figure was up 26% on 2022, while revenues rose 15% to $515.7m.
Free cash flow surged 81% to $107.6. At the same time net debt grew to $246.6m up from $198.5m in the year.
Centurion’s CEO Fernando Assing said the company’s buyout strategy continues efforts to diversify the business beyond energy into other “critical industries”.
He said: “2023 marked another year of record financial performance for Centurion, as the group sharpened its focus on delivering technical, efficient and sustainable rentals and services to critical industries.
“We made significant progress against our strategy to diversify and expand the business, extending our offering to new end-markets and geographies.
“This was underpinned by five major acquisitions, which significantly enhanced the group’s capabilities and positioned it for growth in adjacent markets, from offshore wind to specialist water treatment.
“Centurion’s good momentum has continued in to 2024, underlining the strength of our business model and the sustained demand for our products and services around the world. We look forward to continuing to build on this throughout the rest of the year, for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
The value of the deals in 2023 was not disclosed. The company has snapped up 15 companies in multiple locations, including UK, US, Canada, Middle East and Australia in the last five years.
The group was largely forged as an oil and gas-oriented rentals business with the merger of four of SCF’s portfolio companies in 2017. These included Centurion Group, Oil Patch Group, SITE Energy Services and Waste Treatment Solutions.
Centurion had previously merged with Aberdeen’s ATR Group in 2016.
This article was changed to correct Centurion’s HQ and a currency conversion.