NTR has reported profits of €14.2m for the year to the end of March. This is a drop from €22.2m in the previous accounting period, which was the 15 months to the end of March 2006.
The company did not give any more details on whether it planned a flotation, but chief executive Jim Barry said NTR was committed to 'a liquidity event' in 2009. But it was not yet decided whether this would involve the whole group or subsidiaries.
The company earlier this year completed a deal to sell the West Link toll bridge in Dublin to the State in a deal worth around €600m. Revenue from tolls in the year was €53m, representing an annual rise of more than 10%.
NTR said total revenue was €446.9m, representing an underlying annual increase of 19%, while underlying earnings (EBITDA) rose by 17% to €79.4m. The company said the drop in profit was mainly due to heavy spending on investment - which trebled in the period to more than €750m. The final dividend is up 10% to 3.59 cent per share.
A breakdown of the results showed that wind energy group Airtricity had flat revenue of €176.7m, while waste energy group Greenstar recorded sharply higher revenue of €134.6m in Ireland and €54.8m in the UK. NTR also announced today its first recycling acquisitions in North America, with the purchase of companies in Pittsburgh and Illinois.
NTR said its US waste division, Greenstar North America (GSNA), had spent €20m on the two acquisitions.
It has bought Recycle Management Corporation in Pittsburgh, and Delta Management Group in Illinois.
Bioenergy group Bioverda's revenue was €14.2m, while Irish Broadband's figure was €12.1m, up from €8.2m in the previous 15 months. Irish Broadband's customer numbers were up 63% to 44,000. NTR said 'all options' for the future of the broadband arm were under consideration.
