Shares in Cape leapt over 20 per cent on Thursday morning after the firm delivered revenue growth of 9.8 per cent and maintained its dividend payment at 4.5p for the first half of 2012.
At the start of August the firm had warned investors that it was unlikely to meet expectations in 2012 after trading - and consequently operating margins - in Australia deteriorated sharply in the second quarter, something which has now become a key area of focus for the group.
The company also paid a £14m one-off charge in respect of losses arising from the Arzew project in Algeria.
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Revenue for the period came in at £371.6m, from £335.0m the same period the previous year, while profit before tax totalled £9.9m, down from £28.6m in the first half of previous year. Basic earnings per share plunged 67% from 17.9p to 5.9p.
The UK region, which is Cape's largest business and accounts for 39.8% of group revenue, made good progress in executing the restructuring plan put in place in the fourth quarter of 2011 and delivered a solid first half performance. Excluding acquisitions, revenue from the UK rose 9.0% to a record £148m, driven by additional offshore maintenance work for North Sea operators.
As expected, the Gulf/Middle East Region, which accounts for 20.3% of group revenue, recorded its first revenue growth (at 12.4%) since 2009, but operating margins were at lower levels reflecting the region's exposure to the construction support services cycle.
Revenue reduced to £24.1m (H1 2011: £28.3m) in the Mediterranean and North Africa region, largely driven by reduced activity levels in Kazakhstan.
A business review is currently being conducted on Far East/Pacific Rim operations, where a revenue increase of 7.2% to £114.3m (H1 2011: £104.4m) was more than offset by the reduction in the adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) margin to 2.8% (H1 2011: 8.7%), resulting in a decrease in adjusted EBITA to £3.2m (H1 2011: £9.1m).
At the period end the company has an order book of £920m (H1 2011: £830m).
Joe Oatley, Chief Executive of Cape said: "In my first few weeks at Cape I have focused on gaining a rapid understanding of our businesses around the world. Whilst this is clearly a challenging period for the Group, I am pleased to say that, having carried out an initial review of all of our operations, I continue to believe that the core of the business is fundamentally strong. Outside the Far East/Pacific Rim Region and the Arzew project in Algeria, the group's operations are performing in line with expectations.
"Our near-term focus is on addressing the operational issues in Australia and ensuring that we have the foundations in place around the group to deliver consistent long-term growth in earnings. The group's substantial order book provides good near-term visibility and we remain confident of achieving the recently revised expectations for the current financial year."
The share price rose 20.41% to 231.90p by 09:18.
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