Shoplifting ‘epidemic’ and AI data centre demand help Mitie revenue surge
Rising demand for shop security guards and AI data centres have helped drive a surge in sales for security and engineering services company Mitie.
The FTSE 250 business, which has more than 80,000 staff, saw a 12 per cent rise in revenue from security services to £580m in the six months to end September, fueled by a number of new contract wins including with chemist Boots and supermarket chain Co-op.
Notable wins also included security and hygiene services for insurance giant Aviva, alongside contracts with the Home Office, Metropolitan Police Authority, Tate Gallery and Decathlon.
“There is a shoplifting epidemic,” said chief executive Phil Bentley, who added that high rates of theft were pushing up prices on the shelves.
Soaring demand for data centres also helped boost turnover for Mitie, with projects revenue jumping 30 per cent to £167m over the period, led by new partnerships with Microsoft and Google. The firm said its projects order book had risen by as much as 50 per cent.
“We’re increasingly doing work in Europe as well – if a client like Google likes what we’ve done in the UK, they ask us to help with projects elsewhere,” Bentley said.
“The whole design of data centres is changing around the AI impact and how much energy the chips use up. The power requirement to run Nvidia chips for AI is much higher.”
Bentley cited one AI data centre project north of Basingstoke that is expected to consume more power than the town of Basingstoke itself.
“There are some big projects coming down the track – they’re in our order book but not [yet] in our revenue.”
Overall, Mitie turnover was up 10.4 per cent to £2.7bn – though pre-tax profit slipped 12 per cent to just under £50m.
Mitie splashes a cool £7m on fridge acquisition
Mitie’s shares slipped 2.9 per cent to 152p shortly after markets opened. The stock is up by 37 per cent since the start of the year.
Mitie also announced it had acquired specialist refrigeration business Forest Group as it seeks to bolster its relationship with key hospitality customers.
The deal comprises an up-front cash consideration of £4.5m plus subsequent performance payments totalling up to £2.5m.
Forest boasts a host of top pub chains among its existing client base, including Mitchells & Butlers, Greene King and Wetherspoon.