THE marine specialist James Fisher & Sons has revealed its latest trading update.

The Barrow-based company issued a trading update for the first four months of 2016 ahead of its annual general meeting today.

It said: “Trading to date has been in line with management's expectations with our marine support, specialist technical and tankships divisions continuing to trade well, but with offshore oil still to see any improvement in the weak trading conditions encountered in the second half of last year.”

Since the start of 2016, the group has been awarded long-term contracts including the Galloper Wind Farm contract in February, an Indian Navy submarine rescue contract in March, and the Winfrith reactor decommissioning contract earlier this week.

The company statement added: “For the year as a whole, the group's outlook is positive with contract-led growth in the second more than compensating for a slightly lower performance in the first half compared to last year.

“With a strong financial position and robust business model, the board believes that James Fisher continues to be well placed to provide further growth and value for its shareholders.”