Ausdrill Limited Reported 45.6% Growth In Its Revenues For 1H FY 2019

Ausdrill Limited (ASX:ASL) provides services into drilling. The Company operates the drill, blast, and exploration rigs and its services include contract drilling and blasting, exploration drilling, ground support, contract open pit mining and earthmoving, mining equipment supplies, and logistics management. The Group also provides trenching, cable and pipeline rollout services.

Ausdrill Limited has announced its 1H FY19 results for the period ended 31 December 2018. As per the report the company has delivered a strong financial result for the six months ended 31 December 2018 following the transformational acquisition of Barminco. The company has reported Revenue from operations of $640.2 million which 45.6% higher than the previous corresponding period.

The Group’s statutory NPAT for the period was $217.0 million. This increase in the statutory result is due to a significant uplift from one-off, non-cash items relating to the accounting treatment of the acquisition. Ausdrill maintained a strong balance sheet position through prudent funding of the acquisition of Barminco, and by completing a $250 million equity raising via an Accelerated Non-Renounceable Entitlement Offer during H1 FY19.

Ausdrill ended H1 FY19 with cash reserves of $198.9 million and undrawn debt facilities of $176.5 million. At 31 December 2018, Ausdrill’s gearing position was slightly higher at 27.1% as compared to the 25.7% reported as on 30 June 2018. While the Group’s leverage ratio was steady at 1.4x. Besides, Ausdrill’s credit ratings were upgraded in November 2018 by both Moody’s Investor Services and Standard and Poor’s to Ba2 and BB respectively, following completion of the Barminco acquisition.

Ausdrill’s strong financial position ensures the Company is well positioned to fund newly awarded projects and capitalise on growth and investment opportunities. The Board of Ausdrill has declared an interim dividend of 3.5 cents per share for the half-year ended 31 December 2018. This fully franked dividend will be paid to the company's shareholders as on 27 March 2019 and will be payable to those who hold shares on 13 March 2019 (Record Date).

The acquisition of Barminco in October 2018 represented a transformational event for the Ausdrill Group, forming Australia’s second largest mining services company. The Group will continue to embrace its history while pursuing growth opportunities to deliver increased shareholder returns. The group would focus on providing certainty to customers by investing in its people, embracing innovation and technology and ensuring a focus on value-adding systems and business discipline. In particular, the key focus would remain to transform its above ground operations in Africa, divest businesses that do not fit strategically, and ensure that the company achieves best practice in the way it wins and deliver work for its clients.

Now, let us have a quick look at Ausdrill Limited’s stock performance and the return it has posted over the last few months. The stock is currently trading at a price of $1.665, up by 1.216 % during the day’s trade with a market capitalisation of ~$ 1.13 Bn. The counter opened the day at $1.780, reached the day’s high of $1.835 and touched the day’s low of $ 1.665 with a daily volume of ~12,380,951. The stock has provided a Year Till Date return of 45.58% & also posted gains of -14.71%, 10.77% & 20.96% over the past six months, three & one-months period respectively. It had a 52-week high price of $2.872 and touched 52 weeks low of $ 1.042, with an average volume of 4,307,364 approximately.

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