Aggreko wins World Cup and Commonwealth Games power contracts

Shares in temporary power supplier are biggest riser in FTSE 100 a year on from two profit warnings in two months
2014 World Cup
Construction continues in Manaus, Brazil, ahead of the 2014 World Cup. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

Aggreko has won contracts to supply power at next year's World Cup in Brazil and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, following a challenging period for the British company.

Shares in the temporary power supplier rose 5.8%, making it the biggest FTSE 100 riser on Monday morning, as it revealed the major sporting event wins and updated the market on the full year.

Revenue will be roughly flat at £1.57bn, while pre-tax profit is expected to be "at least" £335m in the year to 31 December, lower than the £367m achieved in 2012 but slightly above analysts' expectations of £332m.

Aggreko will provide temporary power for broadcasting of all World Cup matches in each of the 12 host cities, as well as for the International Broadcast Centre in Rio de Janeiro. It will supply and operate more than 46 megawatts of generating capacity, 1,000 distribution panels and 200km of electric cables.

The major contract wins are a welcome boost for the company, which faced a weakened outlook at the end of last year when the end of its 2012 Olympics contract coincided with declining military work and doubts over contract extensions in Japan, prompting two profit warnings in two months.

John Lawson, an analyst at Investec, said Aggreko's latest statement should be seen as a "welcome update", with no nasty shocks.

"Investors should be able to sleep slightly easier tonight, with no profit warning and no bad debt write-down."

On a regional basis, the company said underlying full-year revenue – excluding the boost from the London Olympics a year earlier – was likely to be around 8% higher in its Europe, Middle East, and Africa business.

Underlying revenue is expected to grow by around 7% in the Americas and fall by around 12% in Asia Pacific, largely as a result of contracts finishing in Japan.

Net debt is expected to fall by around £200m to below £400m as it scaled back investment in 2013 to deal with the weaker outlook.

Other deals secured recently include a six-month 80-megawatts diesel contract in Panama, under which Aggreko will provide power as a licensed generator to the country's wholesale electricity market.

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