EXOVA Group, the materials testing specialist, has reported a four per cent in underlying earnings in the year it floated on the London Stock Exchange.
Edinburgh-based Exova, whose services are applied in the aerospace, defence, food, oil and gas and other sectors, said adjusted EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) narrowed to £46.2 million in the year ended December 31. This compares with £48.1m the year before.
The company cited currency headwinds as revenue dropped by 1.5 per cent to £274.9m, but said revenue had shown organic growth of 0.4 per cent on a constant currency basis.
After accounting for exceptional items, including the cost of acquisitions and listing the company on the stock market, statutory profits plunged by nearly 30 per cent to £19.6m.
The accounts show that the company booked costs of £13.3m million related to its initial public offering (IPO) of shares.
The results sparked little movement in the share price yesterday, with the stock closing down by 0.75p, or 0.51 per cent, at 145p.
Chief executive Ian El-Mokadem said the results were in line with the company's mid-year guidance, noting that the numbers illustrate its "ability to adapt to changing market conditions".
He said: "We delivered strong growth in Europe and the rest of the world, whilst growth in the Americas was moderated by headwinds in our transportation and aerospace business.
"Looking ahead to 2015, we expect to deliver modest organic growth, good total growth, and underlying margins broadly in line with the reduction in activity and uncertainty in global energy markets."
Mr El-Mokadem highlighted in November the attraction for the firm in augmenting organic growth with acquisitions and outsourcing agreements. That came after it had completed a range of deals in the 10 months to October 31, including the acquisition of companies in the UK, India and Norway.
It hit the acquisition trail again in February when it announced it had bought Environmental Evaluation, an Oldham-based asbestos management specialist with a site in Stirling.
The company proposed a dividend of 2p per share yesterday in line with IPO guidance.
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