UK government contractor Serco Group Plc on Wednesday lifted financial guidance on the back of contract wins and appointed Proximus chief financial officer Mark Reid to the same role from March 6, succeeding Nigel Crossley, who is retiring after 11 years with the company.
The company said it expected underlying operating profit of £270m, up from prior guidance of £260m, with a margin of 5.5%.
It added that revenues would rise by 2% to around £4.9bn, with 1% organic growth.
"The global government services market is substantial, with high barriers to entry and strong growth prospects, particularly in the defence sector," said CEO Anthony Kirby.
"Our significant order intake, of which around two thirds is in defence, and record pipeline further demonstrate the structural drivers of demand for our services, as governments face ever more complex challenges, and look to partners such as Serco to support them."
Reid has been with the Belgian telecoms operator for five years where he also held the role of interim CEO of their international division while retaining group CFO responsibilities, Serco said in a statement on Wednesday.
He has more than 20 years of international finance experience and previously held senior roles at Liberty Global, Virgin Media, British Airways and Yahoo.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com