A Scottish oil and gas firm has bought a Texas-based engineering firm to bolster its presence in the US shale industry.
Centurion Group, which supplies infrastructure and support services to energy customers worldwide, has bought valve technology firm Totalfrac for an undisclosed sum.
Aberdeen-headquartered Centurion said the move would enable it to widen its services to operators in the shale basins in the US.
The move came just two weeks after the group, which specialises in areas such as accommodation rental, secured an additional $60 million in firepower from its bankers for acquisitions.
News of the acquisition came as the group announced full year results for 2018 which saw a strong improvement in performance on the back of increasing demand in the US and Canada and stability in the group’s other international markets.
Revenue increased by 40% to $442m with underlying earnings more than doubling to $71 million. Net debt also reduced to $161 million from $175 million.
Chief executive Fernando Assing said 2018 had been an “ excellent year” for Centurion.
“Our strong performance in 2018 has been led by organic growth across our three business segments, supplemented by value enhancing bolt-on acquisitions that have added new capabilities and new customers into the group,” he said.
“The breadth of our equipment and service offering, combined with the expertise and focus on safety and service quality, are major competitive strengths for Centurion.
Assing said 2019 had started positively and he expects the business to continue to progress in the year ahead.
