Contract and profit boost for Energy Assets

ENERGY Assets, the Livingston-based gas meter specialist, has reported a 38 per cent jump in first-half profits and unveiled a contract with Dong Energy Sales to supply its industrial and commercial customers.

The deal with Dong, which was formerly Shell’s Gas Direct business, is the first new advanced meter contract signed by the firm since it acquired Manchester-based Gazprom Global Energy Solutions in a £13.5 million transaction last month.

No value has been given for the contract, but chief executive Phil Bellamy-Lee said: “It is a clear indicator that the proven deployed technology, which was part of the recent acquisition, will deliver value and opportunity in the future.”

The deal came as Energy Assets, which counts retailers John Lewis and Marks & Spencer among its clients, reported a pre-tax profit before one-off items of £1.8 million for the six months to 30 September, up from £1.3m a year ago.

Revenues rose 27 per cent to £7.6m, of which recurring revenues from its 95,000-strong installed base of meters and data loggers accounted for £5m – up 32 per cent over last year.

Finance director John McMorrow told The Scotsman that recurring revenues make up two-thirds of the total, giving the business “a great degree of visibility on future earnings and income”.

No interim dividend was declared but McMorrow said the board was keen to implement a “progressive dividend policy” as its cash flows grow.

Energy Assets floated in March, just nine months after Glasgow-based rival Smart Metering Systems (SMS) – which itself signed a deal in August to supply Dong’s customers – made its stock market debut.

But Bellamy-Lee said: “The industrial and commercial market is significant and there is space for a number of players.”