(Alliance News) - Hargreaves Services PLC on Thursday said annual profit will beat market expectations, after a strong second half.

The Durham, England-based provider of services to industrial and property sector said it expects pretax profit to be marginally ahead of market expectations for the financial year that ended on Friday.

Hargreaves Services said that market expectations for pretax profit are GBP16.1 million, which would be 41% lower than GBP27.2 million it booked for financial 2023.

Market expectations for revenue are a rise of 3.5% to GBP219.0 million from GBP211.5 million.

"The Services business unit continued to perform well throughout the second half of the year, building on a strong first half," Hargreaves Services said.

Hargreaves Land had a strong second half with "notable" deal completions including a residential site at Maltby, the company said.

For its struggling German joint venture, Hargreaves Raw Materials Services GmbH, Hargreaves Services expects to report a "substantial" improvement in performance in the second half in line with expectations.

"This improvement has been due, in part, to seasonality with the annual plant maintenance period occurring in the first half. In addition, trading volumes have improved, and the recycling operation has started to see increased gate fees and pig iron pricing, which is expected to continue into the new financial year," it said.

Hargreaves Services plans to release its financial 2024 results on July 31.

Its shares were up 2.4% to 573.68 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor

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