Security firm G4S says no further impairments in Q1

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Britain's G4S plc (Copenhagen: G4S.CO - news) said it had made a positive start to its financial year, with revenue from its continuing businesses up 4.5 percent in its first quarter and no new impairments on its portfolio of loss-making government contracts.

"Against a backdrop of macro-economic uncertainty, the group had a positive start to year," chief executive Ashley Almanza said in a statement on Monday.

The world's largest security firm said it won new contracts with annual revenues of 450 million pounds ($649.13 million) in the three months to end-March, while profit before interest, tax and amortisation excluding restructuring charges rose 6.5 percent.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in G4S fell more than 12 percent to seven-year lows in March when it took an extra 65 million pound charge on loss-making British government contracts. The stock has made little progress since, and it closed at 184 pence on Friday.

($1 = 0.6932 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)