Interim Results

Ricardo PLC
26 February 2001


                                  Ricardo plc
           Interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2000

                                  HIGHLIGHTS

Ricardo  plc is the UK's leading independent automotive consultancy, employing
over  1,400 people and has technical centres in the UK, USA, Germany  and  the
Czech  Republic.   The company's client list includes all  the  world's  major
OEMs. Ricardo is a constituent of the FTSE techMark 100.


* Profit before tax up 21% to £6.8m

* Turnover up 25% to £67m

* Basic earnings per share up 17% to 9.8p

* Order book up 29% to £53m

* JV formed with Schenck

* Ricardo Test Automation sale


Commenting on the results, Rodney Westhead, Chief Executive said:

'We  are  pleased  to  report a strong set of results  at  a  time  when  the
automotive   industry   faces  considerable  challenges.    Ricardo   remains
optimistic about the future.  Our order book is in a strong position  and  we
remain confident that Ricardo will continue to deliver a solid performance.'

Further enquiries:

Ricardo plc                        )    (today) 020 7457 2345
Rodney Westhead, Chief Executive   )    (thereafter) 01273 455611
Andrew Goodburn, Finance Director  )

Gavin Anderson & Company
Laura Hickman/Charlotte Stone           020 7457 2345


Website: www.ricardo.com

Overview

The  trading  results for the six months to 31 December 2000 show  an  overall
increase in turnover of 25% to £68m.  Profits before tax increased by  21%  to
£6.8m.   The increased profits coupled with a steady tax rate has resulted  in
earnings  per  share growth of 17% to 9.8p.  The order book has  continued  to
improve  across the Group with an overall increase of 29% to £53m compared  to
£41m  twelve  months ago.  On 21 February 2001 Ricardo announced the  sale  of
Ricardo  Test  Automation  ('RTA') in Worcester.  Excluding  the  discontinued
business, the operating profits from the continuing business increased by  19%
from  £6m  to £7.1m, despite our margins being under pressure due to difficult
conditions in the automotive industry.

Dividend

An  interim dividend of 2.5p (1999 2.4p) will be paid on 27 April 2001 to  all
shareholders on the register at the close of business on 30 March 2001.

Corporate Activity

RTA, acquired by Ricardo plc in October 1995 for £3m, has been sold to Schenck
AG, a part of the Durr Group of Germany, for £3.25m on 20 February 2001. This
will  enable  Ricardo  to  concentrate all of  its  energies  on  the  further
development of the consulting engineering business which has grown by 47.6% in
turnover  and 173.9% in operating profits since 1995.  Due to the  significant
volume  of inter-company trading between RTA and other Group companies in  the
supply  of  test equipment and software, the impact of the sale on the  future
profitability of the group should be negligible.

In  conjunction with the sale of RTA, Ricardo has entered into a joint venture
with Schenck AG for the development and marketing of test systems and software
to  be  branded  as  'Schenck Ricardo'.  Ricardo has also assigned  its  newly
developed leading edge Data Management software package to the Joint  Venture,
which  will continue to be jointly developed with Ricardo Consulting Engineers
('RCE').   This  software  is  being assessed by some  of  the  world's  major
automotive companies. The Joint Venture will be 70% owned by Schenck  and  30%
owned by Ricardo.

Our  web-based  internet technology, R-Link (Ricardo Link)  is  recognised  as
being  amongst the very best in our industry and provides a valuable tool  for
Ricardo  staff  located  across  the world  to  communicate,  collaborate  and
importantly share up-to-date information with our customers and each other.

We  were pleased to welcome Chris Bates and Jeremy Holt  to  the  Board  in
January.

Operations

Our  subsidiary in the USA, Ricardo Inc. has grown significantly and now makes
a  satisfactory  contribution  to  our overall  profitability.   Major  client
programmes between our USA and UK subsidiaries continue to expand as we  match
our operations to the increasing globalisation of our largest customers.

In  the UK we have now realigned our two major businesses, RCE and Ricardo MTC
('MTC'),  into  three  business units for Engines, Transmissions  and  Vehicle
Engineering.   Formerly, vehicle expertise had grown  up  as  a  part  of  our
engines  business  and  as  a part of our transmissions  business.   With  the
increasing importance of our vehicle engineering business we have concentrated
all  of  our  vehicle engineering activities into one focused  unit  with  its
headquarters at MTC alongside our transmissions business, where it is adjacent
to  major  customers, test tracks and a large pool of professionally qualified
engineers.

Our engines business, RCE, has continued to grow its position with several  of
the  major  European OEM's while our transmissions business, MTC,  gained  its
largest  ever order.  MTC has recently commissioned two major test  facilities
for  transmission  development  and test,  which  represent  a  major  capital
investment  and  are  some  of  the  most  comprehensive  transmissions   test
facilities in the automotive industry.

Whilst  our  office in Germany has grown, it has not achieved  the  growth  in
headcount that we planned due to a very tight German labour market.   However,
the  arrival of our new German Managing Director has enabled us to  raise  our
profile in Germany and is leading to the identification of new opportunities.

The Future and Prospects

We  will continue to invest in the highest quality staff, facilities and  R&D.
This  has facilitated our growth in recent years.  In the past six months,  we
have  sustained that growth, despite further consolidation and economic  slow-
down  in  the  industry  as  a  whole. We remain confident  that  the  overall
performance of our business will continue to improve.


                     CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
          Interim Statement for the six months ended 31 December 2000
                                       
                       Six months ended   Six months ended           Year
                                                                    ended
                            31 December        31 December        30 June
                                   2000               1999           2000
                                  £'000              £'000          £'000
Turnover                                                                 
Continuing operations            66,318             52,748        117,376
Discontinued operations           1,303              1,451          3,731
                                 ------             -------        ------
                                 67,621             54,199        121,107
Operating profit/(loss)                                                       
Continuing operations             7,109              5,951         13,067
Discontinued operations              34              (142)             74
                                 ------             -------       -------
Profit on ordinary                                                       
activities before interest        7,143              5,809         13,141

Net interest                      (344)              (199)          (344)
                                 ------             -------       -------
Profit on ordinary                                                       
activities before taxation       6,799              5,610         12,797
Taxation                        (2,040)            (1,683)        (3,860)
                                -------             -------        -------
Profit on ordinary                                                       
activities after taxation        4,759              3,927          8,937
                                  (83)                  -           (17)
                                -------           --------       ---------
Equity minority interest
Profit for the financial year     4,676              3,927          8,920
Non-equity                                                               
preference dividends                (2)                (2)            (4)
                                 ------             -------         ------
Profit attributable                                                      
to ordinary shareholders          4,674              3,925          8,916
Equity ordinary dividends        (1,202)            (1,147)        (3,534)
Amount transferred                                                       
to reserves                       3,472              2,778          5,382
                                --------            -------        -------

Dividend per ordinary share         2.5p              2.4p           7.4p
Basic earnings per ordinary share   9.8p              8.4p          18.9p
Diluted earnings per ordinary share 9.5p              8.0p          18.4p
                                                                         


Notes:

1.   This interim statement should be read in conjunction with the Report  and
     Accounts for the year ended 30 June 2000
     
     The  accounts for the six months ended 31 December 2000 and  31  December
     1999  respectively  are  neither  audited  nor  reviewed.   The  abridged
     accounts  for  the  year ended 30 June 2000 do not  constitute  statutory
     accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985  and
     are  an  extract  from  the  latest published accounts  which  have  been
     delivered to the Registrar of Companies and on which the auditors gave an
     unqualified audit report.

2    Taxation

     The tax charge for the period has been calculated as 30% (1999:30%)

3    Earnings per share

     The  calculations  of  basic  earnings per  ordinary  share  and  diluted
     earnings per ordinary share have been made in accordance with FRS14.
     
     The basic earnings per ordinary share has been calculated by dividing the
     profit  attributable  to  ordinary  shareholders  of   £4,674,000  (1999:
     £3,925,000)  by  the  weighted  average number  of  shares  in  issue  of
     47,565,252 (1999: 46,975,107).  The calculation of the average number  of
     shares  in  issue has been made having deducted the shares  held  by  the
     Employee Share Ownership Trust and the Long Term Incentive Plan Trustee.
     
     The  diluted earnings per ordinary share has been calculated by  dividing
     the  profit  attributable to ordinary shareholders of  £4,674,000  (1999:
     £3,925,000) by the adjusted weighted average number of shares  in  issue.
     This  latter figure has been calculated by adjusting the shares in  issue
     of  47,565,252, as described above, to take account of the effect of  the
     diluted securities of share options and the Long Term Incentive Plan,  to
     give an adjusted total of 48,969,477 shares in issue (1999: 49,026,626).

4    Disposal of Ricardo Test Automation Limited ('RTA')

     On  20  February 2001, Ricardo plc disposed of RTA.  The results for  RTA
     are shown as discontinued activities in the Interim Statement.  There  is
     no  material profit or loss arising on the disposal, having adjusted  for
     goodwill of £2,061,000 previously written off to reserves on acquisition.
                                       

                           SUMMARISED BALANCE SHEET
          Interim Statement for the six months ended 31 December 2000
                                       
                                 As at                As at              As at
                           31 December          31 December            30 June
                                  2000                 1999               2000
                                 £'000                £'000              £'000
                                                                              

Fixed assets                   47,251               39,211             45,259
                              -------               ------            -------
Stock and debtors              39,143               39,407             39.524
Creditors falling                                                             
due within one year          (34,466)             (36,205)           (37,781)
                              -------              --------           -------
                                4,677                3,202              1,743
Cash deposit                      340                  340                340
Net bank balance                2,798                1,105              4,318
                              -------             --------           --------
Net current assets              7,815                4,647              6,401
Total assets less                                                             
current liabilities            55,066               43,858             51,660
Creditors falling                                                             
due after more than one year
Bank borrowings               (8,643)              (4,188)            (8,677)
Other                               -                  (5)                (1)
                              -------              -------             -------
                              (8,643)              (4,193)            (8,678)
Provisions for                                                                
liabilities and charges       (4,534)              (4,651)            (4,809)
                              -------              -------             -------
Net assets                     41,889               35,014             38,173
                              -------              -------             -------
Called up share                                                               
capital and share              
premium account               18,391                17,348             18,338
Capital redemption reserve        40                    -                  -
Long term incentive              
plan reserve                     741                  882                467
Reserves                      22,391               16,784             19,127
                                                                              

Ricardo shareholders' funds                                                   
(including non-equity interests)41,563               35,014             37,932
                               --------             --------            ------
Equity minority interest           326                    -                241
                               --------             --------            ------
Total shareholders' funds       41,889               35,014             38,173
                               --------             --------             -----


These accounts were approved by the Board of Directors on 26 February 2001.

This announcement is being circulated to all shareholders of the Company,  and
copies  will be available to the public at the Company's Registered Office  at
Bridge Works, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FG.
                                       

                       CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
          Interim Statement for the six months ended 31 December 2000
                                       
                    Six months ended     Six months ended      Year ended
                       31 December          31 December          30 June
                          2000                 1999               2000
                     £'000        £'000     £'000    £'000      £'000    £'000
                                                                              
Net cash inflow                                                               
from operating                    8,956              9,005              17,668
activities
Net interest paid         (372)              (398)               (514)        
Dividends paid                                                                
on non-equity shares        (2)                (2)                 (4)
                         -------            ------             -------       
                                                                      
Net cash outflow                                                              
from returns on                                                               
investment and                                                                
servicing of                      (374)              (400)               (518)
finance
Taxation                        (1,422)              (228)             (1,460)
Capital expenditure                                                           
          
Purchase of                                                                   
tangible fixed assets   (6,687)            (6,188)             (14,952)
Sale of tangible                                                              
fixed assets               380                415                 493
                        --------           --------            ---------
                                (6,307)            (5,773)            (14,459)
Equity dividends paid           (2,385)            (2,207)             (3,340)
                                                                              
Financing                                                                     
Issue of                                                                      
ordinary share capital      94                302               1,315
Capital elements                                                              
of finance lease                                                     
rental payments           (48)               (61)               (119)
Loans (repaid)/                   
taken out                 (35)            (2,534)               1,758 
Issue of shares                                                               
to minority                  
shareholder                 -                  -                 212
Premium on                                                                    
redemption of                    
preference shares        (72)                  -                   -          
                                                                              
                                   (61)            (2,293)               3,166
                                 --------          --------             ------
(Decrease)/increase in cash     (1,593)            (1,896)               1,057


NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT


                           Six months          Six months                 Year
                                Ended               Ended                Ended
                          31 December          31December              30 June
                                 2000                1999                 2000
                                £'000               £'000                £'000
                                                                              
Reconciliation of                                                             
net cash flow to
movement in net debt
                                                                              
(Decrease)/increase in cash   (1,593)             (1,896)               1,057
(Decrease)/increase in debt
and lease financing             (35)               2,725               (1,639)
Change in net debt                                                            
from cash flows               (1,628)                829                 (582)
Exchange movement                190                (124)                  69
                             --------              -------              ------
                                                                              
Movement in net                                                               
debt in period                (1,438)                 705                (513)
                                                                              
Net debt at                                                                   
beginning of period           (4,412)             (3,899)              (3,899)
Net debt at end of period     (5,850)             (3,194)              (4,412)
                            ----------           ----------            -------
                                                                             
Reconciliation of operating profit
to net cash inflow from operating
activities
                                                                              
Operating profit                7,143               5,809               13,141
Depreciation charges            4,017               3,227                6,432
Gain on sale of tangible fixed                                                
assets and investment          
property                         (99)                (12)                 (23)
Long term                                                                     
incentive plan charge            274                 247                  460
Quest                                                                         
contributions - written off to 
reserves                         (66)                   -                (870)
Provision for                                                                 
diminution in value of                                                        
investment properties              -                  30                  200 
    
Increase in                                                                   
working capital               (2,313)               (296)              (1,672)
                             ---------              -------            -------
                                8,956               9,005               17,668