Marlowe profits soar on new acquisitions

Support services outfit Marlowe saw first-half profits rise in the six months leading to 30 September as a result of recent acquisitions giving a boost to revenues.

Pre-tax profits rose 60% to £3.98m, while revenues jumped 57% to £56.4m as Marlowe's completion of four acquisitions during the period extended the firm's scale and breadth, particularly in its Water Treatment and Air Quality division.

EBITDA also grew 60% to £5m and earnings per share improved 41% to 8.8p.

Chief executive Alex Dacre, said: "We are pleased with the group's performance in the first half, during which we delivered further profitable growth and made good progress in the execution of our strategy."

"The second half of the year has started well and, taking into account good trading across our divisions supplemented by the positive contribution of recent acquisitions, we expect to deliver a full year performance ahead of current market expectations."

Marlowe believes its "defensive market qualities, strong channel to market, organic growth momentum and potential to acquire new businesses" had strongly positioned it to continue creating shareholder value moving forward.

The AIM-listed group had a net cash balance of £4.9m at the end of the half - a marked turnaround from the £2.9m of net debt it held at the end of its last trading year.

In a separate announcement, Marlowe revealed it had tapped former Berendsen CFO Kevin Quinn to take over as chairman following the departure of current chair Derek O'Neill.

As of 1130 GMT, Marlowe shares had picked up 5.33% to 435p.