SRP.L - Serco Group plc
| Previous close | 142.40 |
| Open | 143.40 |
| Bid | 143.70 x 0 |
| Ask | 144.10 x 0 |
| Day's range | 142.70 - 144.10 |
| 52-week range | 83.60 - 146.50 |
| Volume | 28,503 |
| Avg. volume | 2,392,975 |
| Market cap | 1.76B |
| Beta (3Y monthly) | 0.92 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 23.98 |
| EPS (TTM) | 6.00 |
| Earnings date | 31 Jul 2019 |
| Forward dividend & yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-dividend date | 2014-09-03 |
| 1y target est | 106.42 |
- Reuters•15 days ago
Deloitte, partner fined over Serco Geografix audit failures
Deloitte and a senior partner have been fined and severely reprimanded for misconduct over the audit of Serco Geografix (SGL), an outsourcer that on Thursday formally settled a six-year criminal investigation into fraud and false accounting. Auditing watchdog The Financial Reporting Council said on Thursday it had fined Deloitte 4.23 million pounds ($5.32 million) and audit engagement partner Helen George 97,000 pounds after they admitted misconduct for audits in 2011 and 2012.
- Reuters - UK Focus•15 days ago
UPDATE 2-Deloitte, partner fined over Serco Geografix audit failures
Deloitte and a senior partner have been fined and severely reprimanded for misconduct over the audit of Serco Geografix (SGL), an outsourcer that on Thursday formally settled a six-year criminal investigation into fraud and false accounting. Auditing watchdog The Financial Reporting Council said on Thursday it had fined Deloitte 4.23 million pounds ($5.32 million) and audit engagement partner Helen George 97,000 pounds after they admitted misconduct for audits in 2011 and 2012.
- Reuters•16 days ago
Serco to pay $24 million fine over electronic tagging scandal
A division of Britain's Serco is close to securing a deal under which it will pay a 19.2 million pound ($24 million) fine that looks to draw a line under a long-running scandal over how it billed for electronic tagging contracts. Serco, one of Britain's largest government contractors, said on Wednesday its Serco Geografix (SGL) unit and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), the SFO's fifth court-approved corporate plea-bargain since such deals were introduced in 2014. A judge has granted approval in principle for the DPA, which allows a prosecution to be suspended for a defined period if specific conditions are met.
- Reuters - UK Focus•16 days ago
UPDATE 1-Serco to pay $24 mln fine over electronic tagging scandal
Serco, one of Britain's largest government contractors, said on Wednesday its Serco Geografix (SGL) unit and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), the SFO's fifth court-approved corporate plea-bargain since such deals were introduced in 2014. A judge has granted approval in principle for the DPA, which allows a prosecution to be suspended for a defined period if specific conditions are met.
- Reuters - UK Focus•16 days ago
Serco agrees to 19 mln pound fine over electronic tagging fraud
Britain's Serco has agreed to pay a 19.2 million pound ($24.1 million) fine for three offences of fraud and two of false accounting when it provided electronic tagging to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) between 2010 and 2013. The outsourcing company said its UK subsidiary Serco Geografix had struck a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which after judicial approval will conclude an investigation announced in November 2013. The fine was discounted by 50% because Serco reported the offences itself and had cooperated with the investigation.
- Fool.co.uk•22 days ago
One FTSE 250 stock and one small-cap I’d consider buying with £2,000
Harvey Jones picks out two stocks that have been cheerfully defying the negative sentiment hitting their sectors.
- Simply Wall St.•22 days ago
What does Serco Group plc's (LON:SRP) Balance Sheet Tell Us About Its Future?
Mid-caps stocks, like Serco Group plc (LON:SRP) with a market capitalization of UK£1.7b, aren’t the focus of most...
- Simply Wall St.•22 days ago
Is Serco Group plc's (LON:SRP) Balance Sheet Strong Enough To Weather A Storm?
Stocks with market capitalization between $2B and $10B, such as Serco Group plc (LON:SRP) with a size of UK£1.7b, do...
- Reuters - UK Focus•22 days ago
UPDATE 1-Britain's Serco nudges 2019 revenue outlook higher
Serco nudged its full-year revenue target higher on Wednesday and said a decision on resuming the dividend was looming, after a recent run of contract wins helped the British outsourcer to shine in an otherwise troubled sector. Chief Executive Rupert Soames declined to comment on a failed bid to buy British engineering services group Babcock and said it was keeping its powder dry for future deals. "Trading is rather good, and it's not often you see an outsourcing company doing that," he said.
- Reuters•22 days ago
Britain's Serco nudges 2019 revenue outlook higher
Serco nudged its full-year revenue target higher on Wednesday and said a decision on resuming the dividend was looming, after a recent run of contract wins helped the British outsourcer to shine in an otherwise troubled sector. Chief Executive Rupert Soames declined to comment on a failed bid to buy British engineering services group Babcock and said it was keeping its powder dry for future deals. "Trading is rather good, and it's not often you see an outsourcing company doing that," he said.
- Bloomberg•last month
Where Financial Carnage Comes as Part of the Contract
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Serco Group Plc CEO Rupert Soames frequently boasts that the U.K. contracting firm was an early adopter of financial carnage – to stress that the business is now the better for it.Pulling through a crisis five years ago has given Soames the credibility to embark on M&A, and he has had his eye on defense contractor Babcock International Group Plc.Contrast this with construction group Kier Group Plc, which on Monday reminded investors just what financial carnage looks as it unveiled a plan to shrink and cut debt.Government contracting is a potentially attractive business – but when it goes wrong, it can be a disaster. Memories of Carillion Plc’s bankruptcy may still be fresh in investors’ minds. At least Serco shows that these businesses can, eventually, pull through.With the shares at a two-year high, Serco is in the luxurious position of being able to fund deals by selling stock. It has come a long way since 2014’s emergency rights offering. A takeover of Babcock – which has a market value of about 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) against Serco’s 1.7 billion pounds – would be ambitious and involve issuing stock to Babcock shareholders.The move looks opportunistic: The target’s shares have halved in the last two years, its management is out of favor, and a recent investor day prompted a lukewarm response.The combination would seem to offer more to Serco than to Babcock – unless there were a significant premium to compensate, and the relative size of the businesses would make such a thing hard to engineer.Serco hasn’t been fully rehabilitated; its dividend remains suspended. Babcock, which does pay a dividend, has niche businesses in aerospace and defense with better-than-average margins. Much as its shareholders may admire Soames, a deal would surely dilute the quality of the Babcock business. It’s not hard to see why the target rejected talks following an approach earlier this year.Kier, 10%-owned by beleaguered investor Neil Woodford, is finally doing the same things as Serco did during its crisis – selling assets, changing management and raising equity – albeit in the wrong order. December's 250 million-pound rescue rights offering has already been exhausted and the company is only now just embarking on a radical self-help program. Its market value today is just 178 million pounds.It’s now clear there is much that Kier could have done by way of restructuring before asking shareholders to stump up last year. New CEO Andrew Davies is jettisoning businesses, such is its residential property construction arm, that drain working capital and have few synergies with the core contracting operation, which is focused on infrastructure and highways. The dividend is going altogether, as are 1,200 jobs, largely from corporate center.Kier points to the absence of near-term debt maturities, which should give it some breathing space. But the company appears to be a forced seller and will need to attract competing bids to inject some tension into the sale process.This is an uncomfortable position to be in given the uncertainty around Brexit. The financial strains are now dictating strategy after an aggressive program of expansion by acquisition left the company short of cash.It is possible Kier will pull through, its share price will pick up and that one day Davies, like Soames, will be able to look back and joke about financial carnage. For investors right now, that moment seems an incredibly long way off. As for Serco, its acquisition currency may not yet be tempting enough, and its target’s woes not painful enough, to make a deal with Babcock a reality.To contact the author of this story: Chris Hughes at chughes89@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. He previously worked for Reuters Breakingviews, as well as the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters - UK Focus•last month
Banks lead FTSE 100 higher; airlines hit by Lufthansa warning
- Reuters - UK Focus•last month
UPDATE 3-Kier to sell housing businesses, cut 1,200 jobs and suspend dividend
Kier Group will sell its housebuilding and property businesses, cut about 1,200 jobs and suspend its dividend for at least two years in a radical overhaul designed to lower debt and stabilise the business. Shares in Kier, which has contracts for London's Crossrail project, fell 13% to a new low of 114 pence after the strategic review was rushed out on Monday by Chief Executive Andrew Davies, who took charge in April. Kier is the latest company to run into trouble in the British outsourcing sector, which provides essential services to central government, local authorities and other public bodies.
- Reuters•last month
Babcock confirms it turned down Serco's buyout offer
Babcock said that on 23 January it received an unsolicited and preliminary proposal from Serco regarding a potential all-share deal. "A combination of the two companies had no strategic merit and was not in the best interests of Babcock's shareholders, customers or wider stakeholders," the company said in a statement. Contractors such as Babcock, whose biggest customer is Britain's Defence Ministry, have been hit by a slowdown in decision-making because ahead of Brexit.
- Reuters - UK Focus•last month
UPDATE 1-Serco made two bids to merge with Babcock - report
British outsourcer Serco has made two attempts to merge with its bigger rival Babcock in a deal focused on the defence industry which would have created a company worth 4 billion pounds ($5 billion), The Sunday Times reported. Serco made a preliminary approach late last year, according to the newspaper. Serco's Chairman Roy Gardner contacted his counterpart at Babcock, Mike Turner, who rejected the offer, the report said.
- Reuters•last month
Serco made two bids to merge with Babcock - report
British outsourcer Serco has made two attempts to merge with its bigger rival Babcock in a deal focused on the defence industry which would have created a company worth 4 billion pounds, The Sunday Times reported. Serco made a preliminary approach late last year, according to the newspaper. Serco's Chairman Roy Gardner contacted his counterpart at Babcock, Mike Turner, who rejected the offer, the report said.
- Reuters - UK Focus•last month
Serco makes two bids to merge with Babcock - The Sunday Times
- Simply Wall St.•last month
How Should Investors React To Serco Group plc's (LON:SRP) CEO Pay?
Rupert Soames became the CEO of Serco Group plc (LON:SRP) in 2014. First, this article will compare CEO compensation...
- Simply Wall St.•2 months ago
Some Serco Group (LON:SRP) Shareholders Have Copped A Big 65% Share Price Drop
We think intelligent long term investing is the way to go. But that doesn't mean long term investors can avoid big...
- Reuters•2 months ago
Turmoil over future of PM May, Brexit bruises British stocks
As the pound fell, the FTSE 250 lost 1.4% to hit its lowest point since March 29, when Britain was originally scheduled to exit the European Union. Dublin's main index, often regarded as a barometer of Brexit jitters, was also down nearly 1.4%. The turmoil was compounded when prominent Brexit supporter and Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, resigned from the government.
- Reuters - UK Focus•2 months ago
Serco shares jump on profit boost from $225 mln U.S. naval supplier deal
British outsourcer Serco on Thursday said it would buy U.S. engineering firm Alion's naval systems unit for $225 million to expand in the fast-growing segment of supplies to the U.S. Navy, sending its shares higher. It said the acquisition of Alion's Naval Systems Business Unit would boost earnings from 2020, prompting Serco's shares to rise 9%. "We are adding to our engineering and design expertise on ships, which is about doubling the size of the business we do with the U.S. Navy, which is probably the fastest-growing segment of our global portfolio of government business," CEO Rupert Soames told Reuters in a telephone interview.
- Reuters•2 months ago
Serco buys U.S. defence supplier NSBU for $225 million in boost to earnings
Serco will buy Alion's Naval Systems Business Unit (NSBU), which supplies ship and submarine engineering services to the U.S. Navy, for $225 million (178 million pounds), the British outsourcer said on Thursday, adding it expected the deal to boost its earnings from the first year. The purchase of NSBU is a "significant addition to the capability and scale of Serco's defence business," CEO Rupert Soames said in a statement. From its first full year of ownership in 2020, NSBU is expected to contribute revenue of approximately $370 million, EBITDA of $28 million and underlying trading profit of $20 million.
