TSE – Tokyo Games power provider Aggreko ups profits guidance as ‘activity levels recover’ in some markets

ggreko, the world’s largest supplier of temporary power, has released a short trading update saying that it expects pre-tax profits for 2020  will be “slightly ahead” of the top end of the firm’s previous guidance range of £80 million to £100 million.

The FTSE 250 firm provides generators, temperature control systems and energy storage to large-scale events including Glastonbury, as well as to a range of industrial sectors.  It has donated thousands of generators to Covid-19 testing sites across the UK since the pandemic broke out. 

It comes after the company revealed earlier this month that it had signed  contract revisions with the Tokyo Organising Committee. Aggreko is set to make around $315 million through providing to the delayed games, currently expected to take place in July. Executives are “confident of delivering”. 

The Glasgow-based company said on Wednesday that its new  guidance is “a result of the continued recovery in activity levels across a number of our markets”.

It cited a “strong cash performance” in the second half, which saw group net debt cut cut by around £200million in the year, and Aggreko’s net debt to earnings ratio cut to less than one times. 

The firm added that it is retaining guidance from a previous update issued in November, which forecast a 2021 pre-tax profit for the group of between £170 million to £190 million.

Analyst Andrew Nussey at Peel Hunt said: “The outperformance looks down to strong working capital management.”

Full results will be announced on March 1.  

Shares were up 2.3% in early trading