G4S expects to beat market expectations

Shares in security giant G4S boomed on Monday after the business revealed that the first six months of the year had gone a lot better than experts predicted.

The company said it expects that adjusted profit before interest, tax and amortisation (PBITA) to be ahead of the market consensus.

Analysts were betting that the figure would reach £159 million in the first half of the year, with earnings per share at 4.3p.

Bosses said that after an update nearly a month ago, G4S has “continued to deliver a resilient trading performance during June”.

They added: “We now expect that the group’s adjusted PBITA and underlying earnings for the first six months of 2020 will be significantly above market consensus.”

G4S also plans to move forward its first half report to next week.

Investors greeted the news with glee, sending the company’s shares up by more than 9% early on Monday morning.

Last month the UK-based company said its Secure Solutions arm had seen revenues drop by 4% in April and May compared to the same period last year.

However, the decline was heavily regional, with Europe and the Middle East dropping by 6% in the first five months of the year.

Meanwhile, revenue jumped 6% in the Americas and 2% in Asia.

Its cash business fared even worse, with revenue down 16% in the five months, and 35% across April and May.

At the time, chief executive Ashley Almanza said: “In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to reinforce health and safety measures for employees and customers, assure service delivery and to protect the company’s financial performance, cash flow and financial position.

“As previously reported, the group is implementing restructuring and cost saving measures to reflect the disposal of the conventional cash businesses and in response to the pandemic. As we continue to focus and simplify the group, we expect to identify additional savings.”