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Hunting PLC on Thursday reported its half-year loss vastly narrowed against a buoyant energy industry backdrop.
Hunting shares rose 16% to 262.38 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
The London-based energy services provider posted a narrowed pretax loss in the half-year to June 30 of $500,000, slimmed from $28.6 million a year prior.
Further, it turned to an operating profit of $1.7 million from a loss of $26.5 million.
Revenue surged 38% to $336.1 million from $244.4 million, the firm said. ‘Improvement is due to a mix of higher volumes, along with some price increases on selected product lines,’ the company said.
Hunting noted strong commodity prices in the period, and said the current positive energy market backdrop has resulted in a ‘marked increase’ in orders and enquiries. Its sales order book stood at $326 million at the end of June, up from $215 million at the end of 2021.
The short-to-medium term outlook is ‘highly robust’.
‘The second half of the year is expected to see further improvement in earnings, which is supported by our forward sales order book, which now exceeds the position seen in 2019, providing a positive outlook for the remainder of the year and into 2023,’ said Chief Executive Jim Johnson.
He added: ‘Despite recessionary fears, the energy industry is likely to remain on a firm footing given the macroeconomic and geopolitical movements reported in the period. Energy security planning will likely support industry growth for western economies into 2023, with the Company well placed to benefit from this outlook.’
The company declared an interim dividend of 4.5p, up 13% from 4.0p a year ago.
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