Barrow-in-Furness marine engineering services company James Fisher said its 2016 revenue rose 6% to £466 million and underlying profit before tax grew by 11% to £45.8 million.

James Fisher said three of its four divisions — marine support, specialist technical and tankships — posted good improvements in results “which more than absorbed continued weakness in offshore oil.”

Final dividend will rise 10% to 17.6p.

James Fisher’s share price has soared more than 70% over the past year to give it a stock market value of more than 800 million.

James Fisher CEO Nick Henry said: “Underlying profit before tax grew by 11% to £45.8m reflecting the continued resilience of the James Fisher business model with its well-balanced spread of activities across the marine sector and international markets. 

“This is supported by a robust balance sheet and consistently strong cash generation.

“Our marine support and specialist technical divisions have started 2017 with strong order books and a number of active prospects.

“Trading volumes in tankships are stable and we are seeing some early signs of improved activity in offshore oil.

“We therefore have a positive view of the year ahead and are confident of the group’s potential to provide further growth and value for our shareholders in the future.”