Interim Management Statement
Serco Group plc - Interim Management Statement
12 May 2009
Ahead of today's Annual General Meeting, international service company Serco
Group plc (Serco) is issuing the following Interim Management Statement
covering the Group's performance since 1 January 2009.
Serco has made a strong start to the year and is on track to deliver on
expectations for 2009. We see significant opportunities in the current
challenging economic environment to help our customers in the UK and
internationally to deliver value for money services.
So far this year we have signed contracts with a total value of £1bn, and have
been appointed preferred bidder for contracts valued at around £250m. We have
developed new markets and models, and increased our presence in existing
markets, both through new contracts and by expanding the scope and scale of
existing contracts.
Our new business wins so far in 2009 include the formation of a new partnership
with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, announced in January, to
improve the Trust's pathology services and target the significant UK and
international pathology market. The partnership has signed a contract with the
Trust valued at around £250m to Serco over 10 years. In March, the UK's Ofsted
announced that it had selected Serco to manage inspection services in the
Midlands, with the contract valued at around £55m over six years. In the same
month, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship announced that
we are the preferred bidder for a contract to provide immigration detention
services at centres throughout Australia.
In existing markets, we have extended our UK electronic monitoring contract by
a further two years to 2012, securing additional revenue of £70m, and expanded
the scope of our integrated facilities management contract for Airbus on rebid,
with the contract now valued at around £40m over four years. We have also
renewed our contract, valued at £24m over two years, with the Abu Dhabi
Airports Company to provide air traffic control and electronic engineering
services. In rail, we have seen good passenger revenue growth in our UK rail
franchises in the year to date.
Smaller and medium-sized contract wins continue to play an important role in
our growth. Today we have published a Contract News Update on www.serco.com
which gives detail on a selection of wins since 1 January.
We continue to see substantial new opportunities for growth across our
business. These include in North America, where the integration of SI
International continues to progress well, our appointment to two significant
contract vehicles giving us the opportunity to compete for work under these
contracts. Further detail on these is given in the Contract News Update.
Elsewhere, in the home affairs market, the UK government has announced plans to
build a further five new prisons in addition to the two already planned to be
built, and to market test two underperforming public sector prisons. Also in
the UK, we anticipate a new market opening this year for contracts under the
Government's Flexible New Deal initiative to support the long-term unemployed
in finding, and remaining in, work.
We continue to have a strong funding position, as we reported at our annual
results, and our substantial opportunities and significant order book support
our confidence for the future.
Christopher Hyman, Chief Executive of Serco Group plc, said: "Our customers
around the world are facing increasing challenges in delivering better services
for their citizens in the current economic environment. We are well placed to
help them, given our broad capabilities and the flexibility we have in
deploying them to address our customers' needs. This potential, when combined
with our significant pipeline of opportunities and our substantial order book,
means we remain confident on our prospects for the future."
Ends
For further information please contact Serco:
T +44 (0) 1256 745 900
Charles King, Head of Investor Relations
Dominic Cheetham, Director of Corporate Communications
Teleconference Call for Investors and Analysts
A conference call, hosted by Christopher Hyman, Chief Executive, and Andrew
Jenner, Finance Director, will take place today (12 May 2009) at 08:00 (UK
time), providing an opportunity to discuss our Interim Management Statement.
The conference call may be accessed using the following telephone numbers and
quoting the password "Serco":
UK freephone: 0808 238 6029
UK toll: +44 20 7108 6370
A replay of the call will be available from approximately 10am at:
UK freephone: 0800 376 9019
UK toll: +44 20 7108 6273
Passcode: 5309
About Serco
Serco is a FTSE 100 international service company which combines commercial
know-how with a deep public service ethos.
We improve services by managing people, processes, technology and assets more
effectively. We advise policy makers, design innovative solutions, integrate
systems and - most of all - deliver to the public.
Serco supports governments, agencies and companies who seek a trusted partner
with a solid track record of providing assured service excellence. Our people
offer operational, management and consulting expertise in the aviation, BPO,
defence, education, health, home affairs, local government, science,
technology, transport and the commercial sectors.
More information can be found at www.serco.com
Financial guidance
Our projections are that our revenue will increase to approximately £5bn and
our Adjusted operating profit margin to approximately 6.3% by the end of 2012,
excluding material acquisitions, disposals and currency effects. In 2009, we
expect to deliver double-digit revenue growth and a 30bps increase in our
Adjusted PBT margin, excluding SI International. The addition of SI
International is anticipated to increase our 2009 revenue growth by
approximately 10%. Including the benefit of SI International, we expect our
Adjusted operating profit margin of 5.3% in 2008 to increase by approximately
40 bps in 2009. This 2009 guidance excludes material currency effects.