Silverdell to pay maiden dividend as revenues leap 30pc

Silverdell, a specialist environmental support services group, has said revenues have increased 30 per cent in the year ended September 30th and announced that it plans to pay a maiden dividend.

Revenue for the year is expected to come in at around £78m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to be 46% ahead of the previous year at around £6.0m, with Consulting EBITDA up by around 30% on the same period last year.

Remediation is expected to be 15% lower, which was the result of an unforeseen deferral of certain high margin shut down and refurbishment works. These works were deferred due to changing customer plans, but are now underway. Approximately £200,000 of the decrease relates to a small number of bad debt provisions resulting from customer bankruptcy. The corresponding adjusted fully diluted earnings per share is expected to fall in the range of 1.15-1.25p.

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Senior net debt (excluding asset backed finance arrangements) is expected to be between £6m and £7m. The group continues negotiations relating to its claim against a main contractor on a project completed in September 2011.

The enlarged group is now in the process of tendering for large contracts in Australia, Canada, the UK, and mainland Europe where it has submitted a number of bids in respect of the decommissioning of oil and gas and pharmaceutical facilities. Silverdell anticipates reporting an order book at the end of October in excess of £200m, with over 75% of revenues scheduled to fall in 2013.

The company also said the integration of EDS Group is progressing in line with management expectations.

Sean Nutley, Chief Executive of Silverdell, said: "The future for Silverdell looks highly promising, with the opportunity now to build on strong UK relationships to grow our business abroad. The acquisition of EDS has given us a unique and compelling combined service offering and an ideal platform for future growth. Our decision to recommend a maiden dividend reflects our confidence as we look to the coming year and beyond."

The share price fell 3.57% to 13.50p by 14:05.

NR