ADES International Holding PLC (LON:ADES) has confirmed revenue growth of 13.4% to US$249.3mln for the first six months of 2020.
The group said this demonstrated its resilience to the exceptional challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and oil price volatility.
Half-year underlying earnings (EBITDA) improved by 3.6% to US$93.3mln, though a normalised version of the figure – to exclude one-offs charges – shows an 11% gain to US$99.9mln. The group's margin was trimmed to 37.4% from 40.9% in the same period a year earlier. The company reported a net profit of US$15.5mln, versus US$3.2mln.
The oil and gas services contractor said its order backlog amounts to US$1.2bn compared to US$1.3bn a year earlier.
"The group's first-half results highlight the relative resilience of ADES's markets and the strength of our business model in very challenging market conditions,” Mohamed Farouk, ADES chief executive said in the results statement.
“This in part reflects the group's successful transformation over the last three years from a local, offshore-focused driller in Egypt, to a regional champion with a significant asset base across both the on- and offshore segments.
“Over the same period ADES has significantly grown revenue and delivered a threefold increase in EBITDA, strengthening its financial position,” he added.
Looking to the remainder of 2020, ADES expects the resilient trading to continue, albeit lagging behind the levels set in the first six months of the year. Management expects the full-year to be broadly in line with the 2019 performance.
“In the medium term, we see good prospects for our services given our geographical exposure and cost-effective, well-targeted asset base. We do expect an oil market recovery through 2021 as the global economy slowly recovers and markets return to an equilibrium.
“Having successfully navigated the most critical time in the global crisis, the board is confident in ADES's ability to continue to prosper with strong long-term sustainable business," Farouk noted.
