Hargreaves Services plc
(“Hargreaves” or the “Group”)
Trading Update and Notification of Interim Results
Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), a diversified group delivering services to the industrial and property sectors, provides the following update on trading ahead of reporting its interim results for the six months ended 30 November 2021.
The Board anticipates reporting strong interim results as all of its business segments are trading in line with its expectations.
Whilst, as expected, Revenue will be lower than that which was reported for the six months ended 30 November 2020, due to the disposal of coal trading activities in December 2020, Profit before Tax (“PBT”) will be higher. This improvement in PBT compared to the previous period is reflected across each of the three business units.
In particular, as previously indicated, the Group's German joint venture, Hargreaves Raw Materials Services GmbH (“HRMS”), has benefited from forward trading positions in the first half of the financial year. Those positions mean that the results of HRMS for the first half of this financial year are expected to be broadly similar to those reported for the second half of last financial year. The Board has also previously noted that the favourable market conditions, characterised by strong commodity prices which have prevailed throughout most of this calendar year, might not endure. Looking forward, these market conditions are uncertain and as a result the management of HRMS is currently adopting a cautious approach to trading following the expiry of its forward positions. The impact on the likely trading results of HRMS for the year as a whole should become clearer by the end of January 2022 but the Board expects that they will be substantially weighted to the first half.
Net debt, including debt associated with leased assets, at 30 November 2021 was £3.0m, compared with £20.8m at 30 November 2020. Much of this reduction is due to the strategic decision to dispose of all material coal stock in December 2020. Excluding the impact of leasing debt, at 30 November 2021 the Group held cash balances of £8.5m compared with a net bank debt of £8.0m twelve months ago. Cash balances have reduced from £28.3m at 31 May 2021, primarily due to an additional short term loan of £15m that the Group has provided to HRMS, to assist that business to take advantage of the current strong market conditions. This loan will be repaid in the second half of the financial year.
The Board remains confident of delivering full year results in line with market expectations.
Notification of Interim Results
The Board expects to report its interim results for the six months ended 30 November 2021 on Wednesday 26 January 2022. Details of the analyst meeting to accompany the results will be provided in due course.