Kentz Corporation

Resources-focused engineering and constuction group Kentz Corporation boasts 'work through to 2015' after hoisting interim profits 50% to $37.7m (£23.6m). The Jersey-based company, which recently moved its shares from AIM to the Full List, increased turnover 48.2% to $643.5m in the six months to June, which it ended with a static order backlog of $1.6bn, increased within a month to $2.4bn.

That backlog includes a contract with US group Chevron for the 'Gorgon' liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Western Australia, expected to be worth $850m to Kentz over four to five years. Chief executive officer Hugh O'Donnell says Kentz is on the look-out for more deals and 'small, bolt-on acquisitions' after lifting first-half earnings 77% to 26 cents (16.5p) a share and upping the interim dividend 67% to 5 cents (3.1p) a share.

The company, which ended June with $211m cash, has the financial resources to take on big new deals, maintains O'Donnell, who says Middle East business, often more profitable than work elsewhere, now accounts for 32% of the total. He cites Saudi Arabia as promising and suggests Kentz's recently-acquired Iraqi subsidiary should stand to gain from that country's planned expansion of oil production from one to 11 million barrels of oil a day in five years.

According to O'Donnell, the company, whose 'pipeline of opportunities' is 10% up at $9bn, looks at the spending budgets of its big corporate clients and sees they are growing 10% to 20% a year. Kentz has rapidly built up its mining-oriented business from 9% of the total a year ago to 24% now.

Analysts at Wall Street investment colossus Morgan Stanley see Kentz lifting full-year profits 15.2% to $77.8m (£48.6m) for the full year, with $102m on the cards for 2013. Highlighted by Growth Company Investor at 184.5p three years ago, at 209p last year and at 470p earlier this month, Kentz shares have eased somewhat of late, but are 21.5p up today at 438.5p, where they yield 1.7%.

Hold on for the medium to long term.