Global producer of water treatment and filtration solutions Amiad, which recently set up a new UK base in Wales, has announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015.
Revenue fell slightly from $59.2m to $60.2m in H1 2014. However, gross margin rose to 40.1% (H1 2014: 39.4%), operating profit increased 88% to $3.9m (H1 2014: $2.1m) and profit before tax more than doubled to $3.5m (H1 2014: $1.7m)
Commenting on operational performance, Amiad said that growth in the Irrigation and Oil & Gas segments had mitigated weakness in the Industrial and Municipal segments – resulting in sales being broadly flat.
Irrigation segment sales increased to $30.5m (H1 2014: $27.7m) and continued to be the largest contributor to total revenues accounting for 52% of total revenue
The company attributed a decline in industrial segment sales to weakness in industry in most geographies, in particular China, while the municipal segment had continued to suffer from lack of investment in major infrastructure projects by local authorities.
Earlier this month Amiad announced it was establishing a subsidiary in the UK to support increasing demand for clean water solutions in UK and Europe.
Commenting on the results, Arik Dayan, Chief Executive Officer of Amiad, said:
“We are pleased with the significant growth in the Irrigation and Oil & Gas segments – based on our latest products – which largely served to mitigate the weakness in the Industrial and Municipal segments. In addition, thanks to the implementation of the restructuring and cost cutting exercise, we were able to improve gross margins, reduce operational expenses and strengthen the foundations of the business. As a result, we achieved our goal of getting back to being profitable. “
“Amiad entered the second half of 2015 with a higher backlog than at the same time in the prior year, which is primarily based on the continued growth in Irrigation and Oil & Gas. Global macro-economic conditions continue to impact certain parts of our business, particularly Industrial and Municipal segments, however, our broad portfolio and presence in over 80 countries buffer us from major fluctuations. As we have said previously, our focus in 2015 is on generating profits through expanding our business and maintaining tight cost control. As a result, the Board is confident of achieving year-end results in line with market expectations.”
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