Slowly but surely, G4S seems to be walking away from its accident-prone past. Shareholders were certainly in more forgiving mood yesterday after a better-than-expected first-half showing.
The vast bulk of the company operates outside the UK and in almost every region it posted decent revenue growth. That fed through into a respectable pick-up in underlying profits before debt interest. And the dividend, which had been seen by some as vulnerable, was maintained.
After stripping out businesses earmarked for sale or closure, and toxic contracts from the past, the remaining group is doing nicely. But while Ashley Almanza, the chief executive, can’t be blamed for the mistakes of the past, he still has to mop up the mess.
His disposal plan has a long way to