Management at RPS (RPS) may have spoken too soon in saying its energy business would not threaten earnings growth. The infrastructure consultancy flagged lower than expected profits from its energy business during the second half of last year, which along with uncertain longer-term prospects for the oil industry has prompted it to write-down £40m in goodwill relating to the business.
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Group pre-tax profits are expected to come in at £54m for 2017, slightly below consensus of £54.8m, despite profits from all other businesses (other than energy) increasing year on year. The group has spent heavily on acquisitions during the past three years to reduce its dependence on the oil and gas industry.