Power company Aggreko lifts its profit forecast

Aggreko's profits in the first half were not as good as 2010 when it benefited from major sporting events.

Glasgow power firm Aggreko has said its full-year profits will be better than expected due to international sales.

The company has increased its profit forecast to £315m - a rise of 3%.

Aggreko said it had been boosted by demand in its international power business which provides temporary power stations, mainly to developing countries.

However, the company's profits for the first half of this year dipped 5% to £120.7m.

For the same period last year, the company's results were boosted by major events such as the Winter Olympics.

Chief executive Rupert Soames said: "We generated nearly £50m of revenue from one-off sporting events in the first half of 2010, and consequently the headline numbers in 2011 were always going to make tough comparators."

He added: "However, the underlying rate of growth in revenues is running at over 20%, and it is also encouraging to note that this growth is being delivered by both the Local Business and International Power Projects."

Aggreko said its International Power Projects division had "good momentum" with recent contract wins in Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia and Mali.