AGGREKO, the Glasgow-based supplier of power generators, chillers, heaters and dehumidifiers, saw underlying profits fall 13 per cent to £252m last year as it was hit by the low oil price, price pressures in Bangladesh and slower payments in Venezuela and Yemen.

The company, which employs about 450 of its 7,300 staff in Scotland, said it expected first half profit this year to be slightly lower than 2015 on a constant currency basis – excluding the effect of exchange rate fluctuations – but was encouraged by its relatively strong order book.

“It’s a solid set of results in what was a challenging year,” said chief executive Chris Weston. “I think everyone understands the challenging markets around commodity prices and lower emerging market growth. I’m also very pleased with the progress we’ve made with our business priorities. These are a set of actions that we are taking over the next two years that will allow us to return the company to growth and deliver margins and returns of around 20 per cent.”

The group, which operates in around 100 countries, announced last summer that it was cutting about 700 jobs in an £80m cost-cutting drive. Mr Weston said these had not been in Scotland or the UK and added: “We’re also being more efficient in procurement – how we buy our kit – and we’ve made good progress in these areas.”

Revenues from the oil and gas sector fell 25 per cent, with the shale producing region of North America alone slumping 26 per cent. Aggreko said its geographic diversity had helped offset this performance, with some countries performing better than others.

“In Russia we’re still seeing demand for our product and we’re seeing good volume growth, up 12 per cent last year,” Mr Weston said. “In the Middle East we’re seeing good volume growth as well in oil and gas. So it’s different in different parts of the world.”

There were also good performances in Africa and the petrochemicals and events sectors – including the use of Aggreko generators at last year’s European Games in Baku.

In Bangladesh, the opening of a permanent power station reduced the need for temporary power, so an existing contract was extended at a much lower price than before. Profits were also hit by an $11m provision for bad debt to cover instability in emerging markets, particularly Venezuela – where a weak economy has been hit further by the low oil price – and Yemen, where there is an ongoing civil war. Revenues in Brazil were also down 8 per cent because of the depressed economy.

Mr Weston said Aggreko had ended 2015 with a strong balance sheet and slight reduction in net debt. Revenues slipped 1 per cent to £1.56 billion. The company said it was maintaining its full year dividend of 27.12p a share, demonstrating “continued confidence in the strength and prospects for the group”.

Steve Clayton, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Aggreko’s guidance for 2016 is not great, but perhaps not as bad as expected.”