Campbell Brothers (ASX:CPB) Expects Record Half Year Underlying NPAT

Sydney, June 29, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Campbell Brothers (ASX:CPB) expects underlying net profit after tax for the half year ending 30th September 2010 will be within the range of A$63 million to A$68 million as it sees continued strong demand for its mineral, environmental and coal analytical services.

The guidance compares very favourably to the actual net profit after tax of A$38 million for the half year to September 2009 and is also ahead of the record result of A$57 million achieved in the half year to September 2008 prior to the global financial crisis, the company says. This reflects current strong trading condition for the majority of the company's operation amd a solid contribution from Ecowise and PearlStreet, acquired in the second half of last year.

The environmental division's Asian operations has been particularly strong, the company said. Its Australian Coal operations continue to benefit from increased demand, and activity levels in Africa are also showing signs of improvement following a significant slowdown in the latter half of the previous year. The newly formed Industrial Division (ex-PearlStreet) is performing in line with expectations and the Chemical Division is performing slightly ahead of the previous year.

The company remains cautiously optimistic about the March 2011 second half, but is mindful that the northern hemisphere winter will see a significant slowdown in environmental sampling in that region and expects a traditional off season in mineral exploration activity from January to March 2011.

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Michelle Liang Asia Business News Asia Bureau Tel: +61-2-9247-4344 Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net