Fisher nets Scan Tech for £8.8m
Article Date: Dec 17 2002Ship operator and manager James Fisher (FSJ) has agreed to buy Norwegian marine services business Scan Tech for £8.8 million cash, writes James Crux, taking the transport-listed outfit further into the waters of 'marine services'.
Stavanger-based Scan Tech supplies rental equipment and engineering support to North Sea oil companies and contractors. It specialises in containerised steam units, compressors, air dryers and winches, and will complement fully-listed Fisher's Underwater Engineering Services (UES) business in Aberdeen.
Chairman Tim Harris says the operation is 'very similar to UES in Aberdeen and the joint businesses will have synergies in products, development and clients'. Having predicted in August that marine support services would be the 'major source of profit growth in 2003', he says the Scan Tech deal 'will grow our marine services division substantially and the profits it generates'.
Harris has also unveiled the acquisition of 'Ocean Fleets' from the administrator for £74,000 cash. This business has contracts with the Government, defence contractors and oil majors.
Harris says Scan Tech will be merged with another acquisition, Rumic, bought in October for £4 million. Meanwhile, Fisher's 'Nexus' cable-laying ship will shortly complete a nine-year charter with Global Marine Systems.
With the cable-laying market in dire straights, alternative uses including flexible pipe lay and sub-sea support are being considered, but the laid-up ship will cost £100,000 a month. Contracts have been exchanged to sell the troubled dive support vessel Fisher Cavalier, 51 per cent owned by its joint venture with the defunct Cammell Laird, but Fisher will have to bear £1 million of 2002's losses.
In the half year to June, Fisher beat market expectations with a 15 per cent profits increase to £6.1 million, on turnover of £35.6 million. For 2002, house broker Evolution Beeson Gregory expects pre-tax profits of £9.8 million and earnings of 22.4p a share.
The shares were unchanged at 162.5p today. That values the business at £78 million and rates it at a mere 7.25 times forecast earnings, which analysts see as good value indeed.
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