Revenues and profit to beat forecasts at Kentz

Engineering and construction group Kentz Corporation has revealed that revenues and profits were "marginally" ahead of consensus expectations in 2011.

Meanwhile, the firm has announced a shake-up at the boardroom level, with long-standing Chief Executive Hugh O'Donnell to be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Christian Brown at the start of February.

The succession, O'Donnell claims, has been in the pipelines since 2010. " I am delighted that Chris, a highly successful international businessman, whose industry track record speaks for itself, will be succeeding me as Chief Executive after my 20 years with the company," he said.

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Kentz achieved a record backlog of $2.4bn at the end of the year, a 50% increase on December 2010. This included 60% of reimbursable service contracts, which the firm says provides "significant opportunity for continued natural growth during 2012."

In Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Kentz is seeing strong demand for its services, particularly in the Middle East. Kentz also noted continuing momentum in its Construction and Technical Support Services divisions.

"Overall, the outlook is very positive, underpinned by the solid project pipeline of our core clients, which gives us confidence for 2012 and beyond," O'Donnell said.

Net cash increased by $45m over the second half of the year to $223m by the end of December 2011.