Specialist Energy Group said it was back in the black in the first half and said it expected substantial improvement in the back end of the year.

The specialist engineering group said profit before tax was £0.3m, up from a loss of £0.2m the previous year.

Revenues in the first half were off slightly at £14.3m, down from from £14.4m the year before.

Orders were down to £15.9m from £16.5m, but the firm said further strong contract wins in July saw order intake rise to £20.3m to the end of July.

This compared to £18.8m in the first half of 2011 and included a record £2.7m oil and gas related contract secured by its boiler pump company Hayward Tyler, in July.

Chief Executive Ewan Lloyd-Baker said the company expected to see a substantial improvement in performance in the second half.

This would be driven in part by the elimination of loss making contracts in the manufacturing division and savings from the restructuring of the Luton operations, he said.

A significantly strengthened balance sheet and a stronger fourth quarter 2012 performance by the aftermarket business, which has been held back by financial constraints prior to the new financing, would also drive figures up, he added.

"These changes combined with an improving outlook mean that the board therefore looks to the future with increased confidence," Lloyd-Baker said.


Sierra Leone-focused African Minerals wracked up the bills in the first half, more than tripling its losses in the process.

The firm, which has also been hit by a particularly severe wet season in Sierra Leone, posted an operating loss for the period of $86.2m, mainly due to transaction costs and other professional fees.

This was up from $26.3m in the first half of 2011 and pushed losses per share wider to 26.2c, from 5.3c the previous year.

The appalling weather had already forced the firm to production reduce its guidance for the year to between five and six million tonnes, compared to the eight previously stated.

The company's shares fell almost 8% in morning trading following the announcement.

African Minerals is a very big employer in Sierra Leone, a country with high unemployment, but has had industrial problems recently that led to one fatality.

In April, a protest by temporary workers recently laid off by the company's contractors, turned violent.

The company said the protest was used as a platform for anger over nationally high levels of unemployment.

That protest became a civil disturbance to which the police responded, resulting in the death.

In an attempt to improve employment relations in the country, the firm has appointed Graham Foyle-Twining as corporate Global head of Human Resources and Sustainable Development.

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