RPT-Cape says unlikely to meet full-year expectations

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Aug 1 (Reuters) - Industrial services provider Cape Plc said it was unlikely to meet its previous expectations for the full year, citing a decline in performance at the company's onshore business unit in Australia.

"Lower revenue, combined with increasing pricing pressure, has led to operating margins being significantly lower than previously expected," said Cape, which provides insulation, painting, coatings, and industrial cleaning services to plant operators in the energy and mining sectors.

"With delays in major project works in Australia now apparent, no improvement in activity levels is expected in the near term."

Cape's Far East/Pacific Rim region operations, which includes the onshore business unit, are expected to face challenges in 2013 as well, the company said.

The FTSE 250 company, which named a new chief executive in May, said it began a review of the region's business structure and an initial overhead cost cut plan had been implemented.

Cape now expects operating margin, before the impact of any restructuring, to reduce to about half of 2011 levels.

In May, the company said its profit would take a hit on a charge related to losses on an LNG project in Algeria.

Cape shares, which have fallen 12 percent since the beginning of this year, closed at 289.9 pence on Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Brenton Cordeiro in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)