Air conditioning unit hirer Andrews Sykes saw profits improve in 2010 despite its Middle East business continuing to prove a drag on growth.

Profit before tax in 2010 rose to £14.37m from £13.29m on revenue that rose to £55.95m from £54.36m the year before.

Normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation improved to £17.72m from £17.37m.

Operating profit from the group's core hire and sales business in the UK and northern Europe increased by £2.9m from the year before to £14.0m, thanks in part to the cold snap in December, which boosted demand for the company's heating products.

Things were not so hot in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai, where business continues to suffer from the economic downturn. This is expected to continue for some time, and the board is adjusting the cost base to reflect reduced activity levels.

The UK fixed installation business improved its operating profit by £0.1m to £0.2m, and further improvements are expected.

Net cash inflow from operating activities was £13.9m which, due to higher tax payments, was down a little compared with £14.3m in 2009. As at 31 December 2010 the group had net funds of £4.9m compared with net debt of £2.8m at the end of 2009, despite shareholder related cash outflows of £6m on dividends and the purchase of own shares.

External bank borrowings were reduced by £9m during the course of the year to £20m by the year-end.

The full year dividend pay-out is 11p; the company did not declare any dividends in respect of 2009.

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