2 December 2021
FULCRUM UTILITY SERVICES LIMITED
(“Fulcrum” or “the Group”)
Unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2021
Positive H1 performance, with full year anticipated to be in line with expectations
Fulcrum Utility Services Limited, a leading independent provider of essential utility services including multi-utility connections, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, renewable energy infrastructure services and smart metering solutions, announces its interim results for the six-month period ended 30 September 2021.
The Group is pleased to announce it has made good progress in the first half of the year, as it recovers from the impact of Covid-19 and demonstrates resilience against the current volatility in the UK energy market.
Financial highlights
- H1 trading in line with management expectations;
- Trading for the full financial year is anticipated to be in line with market expectations;
- Revenues for the six months to 30 September 2021 increased by 46% on the previous year to £28.6 million (H1 2021: £19.5 million), demonstrating a strong recovery following Covid-19's impact;
- Adjusted EBITDA(1) of £1.0 million (H1 2021: loss of £1.0 million) in line with management expectations;
- Loss before tax of £1.3 million (H1 2021: loss of £3.7 million) reflecting increased adjusted EBITDA(1) and a reduction in exceptional items;
- Net debt(2) of £3.3 million (31 March 2021: £1.5 million) with headroom of £5.6 million on the Group's Revolving Credit Facility at 30 September 2021.
Strategic highlights
- Achieved significant order book growth of 44%, up £24.8 million to £80.9 million at 30 September 2021 (31 March 2021: £56.1 million), driven by securing a variety of significant new contract wins;
- Successful completion of tranche three of the domestic gas assets transfer to ESP for a total consideration of £3.8 million, with £3.7 million of this received in cash on 1 June 2021;
- The Group's refocused attention on cost discipline has delivered a 14% reduction in underlying overhead costs(3) compared to H2 FY21. The Group expects further benefits from its actions to be realised in H2 FY22;
- The Group's broad and diverse business operations continue to demonstrate resilience within a currently volatile energy market.
Domestic Asset Sale update
The Group is pleased to confirm the successful completion of tranche four of the domestic gas assets transfer to ESP for a total consideration of £2.8 million on 30 November 2021. £2.7 million of this was received in cash on 30 November 2021 with a further £0.1 million in cash received in respect of the previous tranches of assets transferred. This additional payment was a result of the Group achieving the first enhanced payment milestone under the asset sale agreement.
In FY22 to date, the Group has successfully completed the transfers of both the third and fourth tranches of its domestic customer gas connection assets to ESP for a total consideration of £6.6 million.
The Group continues to evaluate opportunities, particularly in the smart energy infrastructure market, where strong Government stimulus and an increasing regulatory framework present significant and strategic growth opportunities to monetise all aspects of meter life.
Current trading and Outlook
The Board is satisfied with the Group's trading and performance in the first half of the year and confirms a positive outlook for the full financial year, which is anticipated to be in line with market expectations.
Fulcrum has demonstrated resilience during both the Covid-19 pandemic and the currently volatile energy market. The Board believes that this performance reflects the fundamental strength of the Group's business model with its broad and diverse operations and revenue streams.
The Group has a substantially enlarged orderbook and healthy sales pipeline, which continues to grow. Market fundamentals also remain very strong and there is a significant growth opportunity for the Group across all the diverse sectors it operates in, supported by Government stimulus that underpins the UK's transition to a low carbon economy.
The Board is excited by Fulcrum's future growth potential and remains confident that the Group's growing and healthy order book, robust business model and diverse and specialist energy infrastructure capabilities, essential to supporting the UK's energy transition, position it well to capitalise on these significant opportunities.
Terry Dugdale, CEO, said:
“We have made good progress across all areas of the business in the first half of the year. Our order book is healthy and continues to grow.
The resilience demonstrated by the Group to date in the face of ongoing turbulence in the energy market is, I believe, a testament to the robustness of the Group's business model, diverse operations and order book strength.
Our continued focus on stabilising the business and strengthening its foundations has enabled us to grow in our core markets and provides a robust platform from which to grow the business further. The backdrop of the UK's smart energy revolution and vision for a net-zero future presents Fulcrum with significant and strategic growth opportunities and I am excited by the future prospects for the Group.”