Gulf starts at Sheikh Adi-2 25/05/2012
Iraq-focused oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has begun drilling at the Sheikh Adi-2 well in the Sheikh Adi block.
Billington slips to first-half loss
Structural steel specialist Billington Holdings (BILN) has passed the interim dividend after turning £800,000 first-half profits into £400,000 losses. The Barnsley-based company, which provides safety equipment for construction sites and elsewhere, pushed turnover up by £1.5 million to £22.8 million in the six months to June, but renewing former contracts on much tougher terms than before ate into margins, says executive chairman Peter Hems.
AIM-quoted Billington, where the Swiss Schmill family and linked Liechtenstein trusts control its key shareholder Armco Investments, does not expect a turnaround in its main business until next spring, says Hems. But he does claim 'glimmers of hope', principally in newer products 'easi-edge', protective equipment for building sites, and 'hoard-it', for ground-level hoardings, which the company says are enjoying sustained growth and winning market share.
Billington, whose customers include the likes of Laing O'Rourke, Balfour Beatty and Kier, has also formed a joint venture, BS2, with Bourne Steel, a private company with an entree into the London commercial market. Hems says London is 'showing signs of life' and argues the joint venture will be able to bid for larger projects than either partner would on its own.
As yet, tough market conditions have not produced the fall-out of weaker brethren that would make life easier for more robust survivors, laments Hems. He says Billington, which recently bought complementary concern Marshall Steel Stairs, is now not interested in acquisitions, except 'small safety solutions stuff'.
Analysts see Billington, which made £1.4 million pre-tax in 2010, losing £1.3 milliion in the full year, before returning to the black. Highlighted by Growth Company Investor as a 'punt' at 95p last March, the shares, which have traded between 150p and 70p over the past year, now stand at 110p, down 120p today, valuing the company at £16.7 million.
Profit taking looks prudent for those not prepared to await an eventual upturn.
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