Aggreko shares down on profit warning

Aggreko was the official temporary power supplier for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Shares in temporary power firm Aggreko fell by more than 7% on Friday after it issued a profit warning for the year.

The company reported underlying sales growth of 13% in the third quarter, but said increasing bad debts and a currency hit would impact full-year profits by 2.5%.

The profit warning came despite a £59m boost from its contract to supply power for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Glasgow-based Aggreko described its third-quarter results as "robust".

Aggreko's local division - which handled the Olympics - delivered a better-than-expected performance in the quarter, with underlying revenues up 11%.

The local business operates from about 133 service centres in 31 countries and rents out products ranging from small generators to large cooling plants.

Its international power arm - which serves utilities, governments, armed forces and major industrial customers with power plants ranging from 10 megawatts to 100 megawatts on a single site - saw order intake below a year earlier.

Last month the company announced it was creating a new global management structure in a bid to support future growth.

Its plans include the creation of three regional units - Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia, Pacific and Australia (APAC) and the Americas - from the start of next year.

Aggreko said the new structure would create a more balanced organisation, with each of the units accounting for 30-40% of group trading profit.