VT prospects buoyant

VT GROUP, the shipbuilder and defence group, rated its future prospects as good, but warned of a slowdown at its core UK defence support services arm. The company said it planned to offset the expected UK slowdown by continuing to expand in United States defence support services (DSS) and in the UK education and skills sectors.

In a statement, Britain?s second largest shipbuilder which currently works on building Type 45 destroyers for the Royal Navy, said: “The outlook for both our support services and shipbuilding businesses is good.” But chief executive Paul Lester said he expected the UK market for DSS would start to flatten after the next four to five years. However, he added that DSS in the UK and overseas remained the company?s largest market, accounting for 36% of sales during the year to March 31. He also said the group was performing well, with a healthy order book and a strengthened management team.