Ricardo CEO Shemmans To Resign After 16 Years; Interim Trading Solid

(Alliance News) - Ricardo PLC on Monday said its trading performance for the first half of its ...

Alliance News 25 January, 2021 | 10:23AM
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(Alliance News) - Ricardo PLC on Monday said its trading performance for the first half of its financial year was in line with management expectations, although operating profit and revenue is set to be below that of the same period a year before.

The environmental services consultancy also announced that Chief Executive Officer Dave Shemmans will be leaving his role "in due course" following an agreement between him and Ricardo's board.

Shemmans has been in his role for 16 years since 2005 and has been part of Ricardo for 22 years since 1999. Shemmans will continue in his role until a successor has been found, allowing for a smooth transition.

"The company has grown and diversified significantly under Dave's leadership and he will be leaving the company with a strong underlying business and plenty of opportunities for further profitable growth," said Chair Terry Morgan.

Shares in Ricardo were up 5.0% at 409.32 pence on Monday in London.

For the six months to the end of December, Ricardo's order intake was GBP181 million, a 13% drop from GBP208.6 million in the same period a year before, but up from 13% from the second half of the prior year.

The Energy & Environment division received GBP28 million in orders, up 15% from the previous period, due to services provided under the European Union's Green Deal and the Water team gaining new orders following the start of the new asset management planning cycle in April 2020.

The Defense arm secured GBP22 million in orders, up 60% from the prior period, with order intake being strong in Engineering Services and the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles anti-lock braking system project for the US Army.

However, there was a 37% decline in orders to GBP28 million for the Performance Products segment, due to fewer orders from McLaren following the shut down of its manufacturing plant in the second quarter of 2020.

Automotive & Industrial's orders dropped by 21% to GBP59 million from the prior period, due to order intake remaining flat in China while dropping in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region.

Looking ahead, operating profit and revenue for the first half is expected to be lower year-on-year. For the first half of the 2020 financial year, operating profit was GBP10.3 million, on revenue of GBP192.9 million.

Concerning Brexit, Ricardo said that the key division to be affected is Performance Products; however due to preparation in advance, the segment has continued to export and import goods without major disruption since the start of 2021.

"The economic outlook continues to be uncertain and we continue with cautious optimism based on our order book and pipeline. We have established a firm and diversified platform for our business based around the global environmental agenda and looking forward I remain confident of the prospects for the group," Shemmans said.

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
Ricardo PLC 468.00 GBX -0.21 -

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