23 March 2007

Inspicio plc

Preliminary results for the twelve months to 31 December 2006

Inspicio plc (“Inspicio” or the “Company”), the UK and international inspection and testing business, today reports results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2006.

Financial Highlights:

• Group turnover £161.9m (2005: £26.2m)
• Divisional turnover: Inspectorate: £126.1m, ESG: £28.1m, Eclipse: £7.7m 
• Revenue growth in Inspectorate of 16.9 per cent at comparable exchange rates (15.3 per cent at actual rates)
• Inspectorate’s operating profit before exceptional items £5.2m (2005: loss £0.6m) at a margin of 4.1 per cent (2005: loss 0.6 per cent) 
• Group earnings before exceptional items, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at £13.1m (2005: £0.9m)
• Group pre-tax profit £0.5m (2005: loss £4.5m)

Operational Highlights:

• Strong performance in all divisions, with the Group delivering against its plans
• Turnaround at Inspectorate on track; strong trading delivered improved sales and margin growth
• Successful acquisitions of ESG (May) and Eclipse (August) adding depth and scale to global reach
• Good progress in integrating acquired businesses and leveraging operational synergies 
• Business driven by increased regulation, high barriers to entry and growing world trade

Commenting on the results, Inspicio’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Silver, said:

“We have delivered robust results for Inspicio’s first full year of operations.  We have achieved strong growth in turnover across the businesses and an improvement in operating margins at Inspectorate, which is on track to achieve its margin target of 8 per cent in the second half of 2007. 

“The fundamental drivers of the business remain strong and we are positive on the outlook for the Group in 2007.  We continue to pursue our stated strategy of turning around the Inspectorate business, and leveraging Inspectorate’s global infrastructure to expand all areas of our businesses assessing further acquisition opportunities as they arise.  We are delighted with progress to date and confident that Inspicio will perform in line with our expectations in 2007.” 

To download the complete results as a pdf click here.