Dorset-based Hamworthy, which specialises in supplying the marine and oil and gas industries with a range of products including pumps, compressors and generators, may not appear at first glance to be a classic cleantech business. However, in recent years the company has seen significant demand from carriers of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and liquid natural gas (LNG) for ‘regasification’ systems that help reduce the amount of gas lost by carriers.
Gas boil-off during transportation is a significant problem for LNG and LPG carriers. Hamworthy’s regasification systems capture this boil-off before returning it to the cargo tanks during a vessel’s journey.
Hamworthy is also the market leader in wastewater treatment systems for cruise and commercial ships, helping them to meet stringent marine environmental guidelines.
During the year to 31 March 2010, Hamworthy’s revenues decreased by 15.2% to £214.3 million amid weakness in a number of its markets. But a focus on operational efficiency helped the firm to maintain operating margins at 9.1%, so pre-tax profits still came in at a healthy £20.7 million (2009: £22.3 million).
Meanwhile, the company has a current order that amounts to £142 million, providing it with good visibility for the current year.
Consequently, Hamworthy’s management raised the final dividend to 5.97p per share (H2 2009: 5.68p), bringing the total dividend for the year to 9.17p per share (2009: 8.73p) – an increase of 5%.
Hamworthy’s Gas Systems business, which supplies liquefaction and regasification systems to the LNG and LPG markets, saw revenues drop during the year by 31.2% to £57.6 million as the LNG regasification market remained restrained. However, the smaller LPG segment is showing some signs of recovery, with a number of new vessel contracts being placed towards the end of the financial year.
Meanwhile, Hamworthy has identified new environmental market opportunities, such as ballast water treatment and exhaust gas cleaning, that are being driven by a defined legislative timetable. The company believes they should provide substantial opportunities for growth over the medium to long term. Soon after announcing its results, Hamworthy did indeed secure a £5 million-plus order to supply its exhaust gas cleaning technology to Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co.
Shares in Hamworthy ended June at 300p each – 7.9% higher than the price at which they began the month.
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