JAMES FISHER - 436p James Fisher is a marine services company with four main divisions, and operates out of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

The largest of these is its Marine Oil Services division which accounts for nearly half the group's turnover of £91.4m. The division operates the largest tanker fleet in Europe and carries more than 8m tonnes of refined product annually for its customers, the oil majors - Shell, BP, Exxon etc.

It has been selling off its oldest vessels and is replacing them and the group expects to benefit fully from the new tonnage in the second half of this year, and in 2007 by which time all the new vessels will have been delivered.

Fisher has finally exited from its cable ships business with the sale of Oceanic Princess for 18.25m US dollars, and with it the transformation of the group from a traditional shipping company into a marine services company begins.

The group has had a clear strategy to grow its marine services businesses both organically and by acquisition and since 2002, the group has spent £52.3m on acquiring small and medium sized businesses that they have identified as being suitable.

Specialist Technical Services accounts for nearly a quarter of the group's turnover, and operates its nuclear decommissioning activities. Its clients include British Energy, British Nuclear Group, and BIL Solutions.

This division has grown from remote intervention works using deep sea vehicles for underwater survey work in ponds at Sellafield, into a full engineering, manufacture, test and installation service.

This division also operates ship-to-ship oil transfers with regional operating bases throughout the Middle and Far East, the Mediterranean, the Baltic and West Africa.

Defence is the smallest division of the group though it is recognised globally in submarine rescue. Last August James Fisher Rumic Limited was mobilised following a call from the MoD.

Under Royal Navy command, it rescued the Russian Priz AS-28 submersible, saving the lives of seven Russian sailors trapped in the mini-submarine, 625ft below the Pacific on the ocean floor off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula.

Offshore Oil Services hires specialist equipment to the offshore oil industry, primarily in the North Sea but increasingly in developing oil areas of the former Soviet Republic, Mexico and West Africa. Main types of such equipment provided are compressors, steam generators, hydraulic power packs and winches etc.

The company's markets remain strong and the company is well-placed to generate significant organic growth. Its results are due on August 30, and we recommend readers BUY.

WARNING: Opinions expressed are the writers' judgments at the time of writing. The information does not constitute a personal recommendation and readers should seek their own professional advice as to the suitability of the investments.