Westminster Group PLC (AIM:WSG) has confirmed it is in discussions relating to a managed services contract for an airport in the Central African Republic (CAR).
The specialist security and services group said it does not normally comment on contracts until they have been signed but in this instance, it did so in response to press speculation.
In addition to the above-mentioned CAR contract, the company revealed it is in advanced discussions on several sizeable potential contract awards that could positively affect this year's expected out-turn, although it is more likely that these will slip into 2022.
The company said it expects revenue in the second half of 2021 will be marginally ahead of the first half of the year while the loss before tax will be roughly the same.
Westminster Group revealed that some contracts it had hoped to close this year have been subject to slippage, as had been cautioned in the company’s August interim results. The group said the delays were caused by various factors, such as ongoing COVID-19 related travel restrictions, a delay in ratification of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contract, and ongoing general business caution across the company's targeted jurisdictions.
Encouragingly, the longer-than-expected time to close the DRC deal is down to discussions about a significant increase in the size of the contract.
Meanwhile, the company’s business continues to recover as the aviation sector gets back to something approaching normal levels of activity. This, and the new contracts which are expected to come on stream in 2022, gives management confidence in current market forecasts for 2022 and beyond.
"We continue to work on numerous opportunities around the world to follow on from the 20-year contract for airport security for five airports in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed in June 2021, which is currently undergoing the final stages of the ratification process. This has taken longer than anticipated, partly due to discussions regarding a significant expansion of scope,” said Peter Fowler, the chief executive officer.
"In this respect, I am particularly pleased to have entered into a strategic co-operation agreement with the Africa Union Financial Services DRC who are a large multi-services organisation with numerous large-scale investment and security projects, including managing the security screening and traffic operations at DRC's ports and borders. I believe the complementary skills and services of our two groups will deliver significant joint opportunities,” Fowler said.