Severfield plc Interim Results 2021

23 November 2021

Interim results for the period ended 30 September 2021

UK and Europe order book of £393m, India order book of £140m, continued operational and strategic progress, good visibility of earnings through FY23

Severfield plc, the market leading structural steel group, announces its results for the six-month period ended 30 September 2021.

Headlines

• Revenue up 5% to £195.9m (H1 2020: £186.0m)
• Underlying¹ profit before tax up 23% to £10.3m (H1 2020: £8.4m)
• Period -end net debt (excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities²) of £6.7m (31 March 2021: net funds of £4.4m), including acquisition loans of £17.8m (31 March 2021: £20.7m), reflects unwinding of unusually low March 2021 working capital position
• Record UK and Europe order book of £393m at 1 November 2021 (1 June 2021: £301m), includes new industrial and distribution and bridge orders and the new stadium for Everton F.C.
• Share of profit from JSSL of £0.3m (H1 2020: loss of £0.7m), return to profitability reflects an Indian market which is now showing clear signs of recovery from second wave of COVID-19
• India order book of £140m at 1 November 2021 (1 June 2021: £140m)
• Interim dividend increased by 9% to 1.2p per share (H1 2020: 1.1p per share)

ESG

• Certified by the Carbon Trust as carbon neutral for manufacturing and construction operations
• Net Zero carbon target established for 2040, Group signed up to the UN 'Race to Zero' campaign

Outlook

• UK and Europe – tendering and pipeline activity remain very encouraging – including opportunities in the industrial and distribution, transport infrastructure, nuclear and data centre sectors
• India – strong and growing underlying demand for structural steel – JSSL is very well-positioned to take advantage of an improving economy
• Expectations are unchanged despite ongoing supply chain and inflationary pressures for us and our clients
• Record UK and Europe order book gives us good profit visibility through FY23

Alan Dunsmore, Chief Executive Officer commented:

'The operational and strategic progress we have made over recent years has underpinned our first half performance. Tendering activity in UK and Europe remains very encouraging and our pipeline of opportunities spans a wide range of sectors demonstrating the benefits of both the strategic acquisitions and the organic investments we have made in recent years.

We are making strong progress in our Indian business and are well-placed to capitalise on this exciting market opportunity as the economy recovers from the pandemic and construction continues to transition from concrete to steel.

Our people and communities remain a priority as we further our 'Smarter, Safer, more Sustainable' programme, as well as advancing our sustainability agenda, playing our part in the shift to a decarbonised economy.

While the inflationary outlook and labour market and supply chain pressures present challenges, our strong order book position and operational experience give us confidence for the rest of this year and provide good visibility through FY23.'