Interim Results

RNS Number : 0556Z

Renew Holdings PLC

24 May 2016

 

Renew Holdings plc

("Renew" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Interim Results

Renew (AIM: RNWH), the Engineering Services Group supporting UK infrastructure, announces record interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2016. With a strong order book and expected revenue for H2 already fully secured, the Company is increasing its interim dividend in line with its progressive policy by 18% to 2.65p.

Financial Highlights

	H1 2016	H1 2015
Revenue	£265.1m	£252.1m	+5%
Adjusted operating profit*	£10.5m	£9.8m	+7%
Adjusted operating margin*	4.0%	3.9%	+ 3%
Adjusted profit before tax*	£10.3m	£9.5m	+9%
Adjusted earnings per share*	13.31p	12.24p	+9%
Interim dividend per share	2.65p	2.25p	+18%

*Adjusted results are stated prior to amortisation charges

Operational Highlights

·     Order book up 9% to £515m (H1 2015: £471m)

§ 9% increase in Engineering Services order book to £416m (H1 2015: £382m)

§ Expected revenue for H2 secured

·     Engineering Services revenue up 6% to £221.3m (2015: £209.8m)

§ 12% organic growth, excluding non-recurring revenue recorded in 2015

·     Further reduction in net debt to £4.2m (2015: £13.9m)

§ The Board expects to report net cash at the end of this financial year

·     Interim dividend increased by 18% to 2.65p per share (2015: 2.25p)

Board Changes

·     Brian May retires as Chief Executive on 30 September 2016

·     Paul Scott, currently Director of Engineering Services, will succeed Brian May

·     Board strengthened by appointment of Andries Liebenberg, Rail Managing Director

R J Harrison OBE, Chairman said: "Renew has delivered another strong set of financial results which demonstrate the success of the Board's strategy of direct delivery of engineering support services to the country's critical infrastructure. The Board expects further progress in the second half of the financial year and the Group is well positioned to achieve its target of a 4.5% Group operating margin for the year ended 30 September 2017."

Renew Holdings plc			Tel: [phone]
Brian May, Chief Executive
John Samuel, Group Finance Director
Numis Securities Limited			Tel: [phone]
Stuart Skinner/Kevin Cruickshank (Nominated Adviser)
Michael Burke (Corporate Broker)
Walbrook PR	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus		Mob: [phone]
Lianne Cawthorne		Mob: [phone]

About Renew Holdings plc

Engineering Services, which accounts for approximately 85% of Group revenue and 90% of operating profit, focuses on the key markets of Energy (including Nuclear), Environmental and Infrastructure, which are largely governed by regulation and benefit from non-discretionary spend with long-term visibility of committed funding.

Specialist Building focuses on the High Quality Residential market in London and the Home Counties.

For more information please visit the Renew Holdings plc website: www.renewholdings.com                

Chairman's Statement

The Group has again delivered record interim results with further growth in both revenue and operating profit. The Group continues to see positive results from its strategy of focusing on providing essential engineering services into regulated markets where long-term maintenance and renewal requirements are funded mainly through operational expenditure budgets.

Results

Group operating profit, prior to amortisation charges, increased by 7% to £10.5m (2015: £9.8m), on revenue up 5% to £265.1m (2015: £252.1m). Operating margin measured on this basis increased to 4.0% (2015: 3.9%) with earnings per share prior to amortisation charges increasing by 9% to 13.31p (2015: 12.24p). Profit before income tax increased by 14% to £8.8m (2015: £7.7m).

In Engineering Services, revenue grew by 6% to £221.3m (2015: £209.8m), representing 84% (2015: 83%) of Group revenue with operating profit prior to amortisation charges increasing by 8% to £10.4m (2015: £9.7m), giving an improved operating margin of 4.7% (2015: 4.6%).

In Specialist Building, the Board continues to focus on contract selectivity and risk management. The business, which operates mainly in the High Quality Residential market in London and the Home Counties, delivered an operating profit of £1.1m (2015: £1.0m) on revenue of £44.4m (2015: £42.5m).

Dividend

In line with its progressive policy, the Board is increasing the interim dividend by 18% to 2.65p (2015: 2.25p) per share which will be paid on 4 July 2016 to shareholders on the register at 3 June 2016.

Order book

The Group's order book at 31 March 2016 increased by 9% to £515m (2015: £471m). The Group's expected revenue for the second half of the financial year is fully secured.

Cash

At 31 March 2016, the Group had net debt of £4.2m (2015: £13.9m). The Board expects to report a net cash position at the end of the financial year.

Board changes

In March 2016, Brian May announced his retirement as Chief Executive, effective 30 September 2016. Paul Scott, who is currently Director of Engineering Services, will succeed Brian. Paul joined the Board in 2014 and was previously Managing Director of the Group's principal nuclear business, Shepley Engineers Limited.

The Board was strengthened further by the appointment on 31 March 2016 of Andries Liebenberg, Managing Director of the Group's largest business, Amco Rail, which is a leading supplier of infrastructure services to Network Rail.

Outlook

The Group continues to make good progress as a leading provider of engineering support services in the UK's Energy, Environmental and Infrastructure markets. The requirement for long-term maintenance and renewal activities drives programmes of non-discretionary spending in our target markets, often over several years, which provides good visibility of future workload with committed funding.

It remains the Board's strategy to grow our Engineering Services business, both organically and through selective earnings enhancing acquisitions. The growth in our order book and good cash generation gives the Board confidence that the Group will deliver strong results for the full financial year. Renew remains on track to achieve its target of a 4.5% Group operating margin for the year ending 30 September 2017. 

R J Harrison OBE

Chairman

24 May 2016

Chief Executive's Review

As a leading provider of engineering services supporting critical UK infrastructure, Renew operates in the Energy, Environmental and Infrastructure markets. These mainly regulated markets, which include nuclear and fossil power generation sites, water and gas pipelines and the rail and wireless telecoms networks, have high barriers to entry.

Engineering Services

During the first half of the financial year, Engineering Services revenue grew by 6% to £221.3m (2015: £209.8m) and accounted for 84% (2015: 83%) of Group revenue. When non-recurring revenue recorded in 2015 is excluded, organic growth was 12%. Operating profit prior to amortisation increased by 8% to £10.4m (2015: £9.7m) with an operating margin of 4.7% (2015: 4.6%) with further improvement expected in the second half of the financial year.

At 31 March 2016, the Engineering Services order book was £416m (2015: £382m), an increase of 9%.

Energy

Renew provides integrated engineering support to assets in the nuclear, fossil, gas and renewable energy markets.

In Nuclear, the Group is active on 14 of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's 17 nuclear licenced sites across the UK. The majority of our work is undertaken at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria where we have operated for almost 70 years and are the largest mechanical and electrical contractor on site. Our work is delivered through 11 framework agreements focusing on the long-term care and maintenance of operational plant in the waste treatment or reprocessing, decommissioning, demolition and clean up operations.

We continue to develop our range of integrated engineering services and recently expanded our capabilities with the acquisition of Nuclear Decontamination Services Limited, which operates at Sellafield as well as other UK nuclear sites.

The strength of our relationships at Sellafield is evidenced by our recent appointment to the major 10-year Decommissioning Delivery Partnership Framework which has an estimated value of £500m over the term. This framework is an essential part of Sellafield's long-term decommissioning strategy and includes provision for additional spend up to £1.5bn.

We continue to see good volumes of work on the established Multi Discipline Site Works Framework which runs to 2017 and is aligned to the largest scope of work at the Sellafield site, Production Operations Support. Other frameworks include the Bulk Sludge Retrieval programme, Site Remediation & Decommissioning Projects and the Bundling Spares Framework.

Working nationally for Magnox, the UK's largest nuclear decommissioning company, we operate as sole provider on the £30m E, C&I framework, recently completing the first year of this 4-year framework. Elsewhere, we have increased our workload with Westinghouse at Springfields where we have operated for over 20 years and we continue to be engaged in outage support at the Heysham and Hartlepool reactor sites.

In gas, our addressable market on the 30/30 Iron Mains Replacement Programme, which runs to 2032, is both substantial and visible. As I reported last year, revenue flow from frameworks for the delivery of these programmes has been slow and as a result this business has continued to perform below our expectations. Increasingly, our focus is on the large diameter medium pressure market in London where our particular skills are highly valued by our clients.

Environmental

We provide maintenance, renewal and emergency reactive services to support water and sewer infrastructure, flood alleviation and coastal protection works.

For Northumbrian Water, we operate as one of two providers on the £14m per annum AMP 6 Sewerage Repairs and Maintenance Framework. Work is also undertaken on the Major Waste Water, Clean Water and Maintenance and Trunk Mains Cleaning frameworks.

We have maintained our strong relationship with Wessex Water with our appointment to the AMP 6 Civils and EMI Delivery Partners Framework. This arrangement, which runs to 2020, is estimated at £350m over the term with potential for extension through the next AMP 7 period. In addition, we remain involved on their new Integrated Grid programme as well as on a range of civil engineering schemes.  

Our long established relationship with Welsh Water continues with work being delivered via the Pressurised Pipelines Framework, the Major Civils Framework and the Emergency Reactive framework.   

The first half of the year has seen good progress on the Environment Agency's £10m MEICA Framework which covers flood and water management sites throughout the Northern Region to 2019. In addition, works have commenced to repair the electrical system at the Fosse Barrier in York following our provision of emergency support during the winter flooding. Work is also undertaken nationally for the Environment Agency on four minor works frameworks.

In Land Remediation, we work for National Grid on a number of frameworks. During the period, we have also secured an £11m contract at Sighthill for Glasgow City Council.

Our long running specialist restoration activity at the Palace of Westminster is progressing with work well advanced on the second of four projects on the Cast Iron Roof programme. In the period we were also appointed to the four year Courtyards Conservation framework at this site.

Infrastructure

As one of the leading infrastructure services providers to Network Rail, we undertake off-track planned, reactive and emergency maintenance and renewal works.

We are sole provider on seven Infrastructure Projects frameworks with an advertised value of £450m over the five-year term of the current CP5 investment period. We also undertake high volumes of individual tasks through six Asset Management frameworks. These cover a wide range of essential assets including bridges, tunnels and embankments. We continue to develop our position as the major structures renewals and sole maintenance contractor in Scotland and notable schemes have included coastal line protection works at Saltcoats.

Our locally based delivery teams provide a 24/7 emergency response service on the rail network. The severe weather around the turn of the year saw our teams respond to critical infrastructure requirements for Network Rail. This included emergency works at Lamington Viaduct in the Upper Clyde Valley where the main line from Carlisle to Glasgow was closed for several weeks to repair extensive damage caused by flooding.  We returned the line to operation ahead of schedule.

New awards include the three-year, £15m Historic Railways Estate Works framework for Highways England.

In wireless telecoms we work for the UK's cellular network operators and original equipment manufacturers. The corporate M&A activity in this market during 2015 caused volatility and adversely impacted our financial performance. Whilst the business has not yet returned to deliver our originally expected level of margin, it has traded profitably and in line with budget in the first half of this financial year. Consumer demand for faster, more capable mobile connectivity is driving the installation and expansion of 4G services which continues to provide the majority of our work.

Specialist Building

The Group has particular expertise and focuses on the major structural engineering works required in many High Quality Residential refurbishment projects in London and the Home Counties.

In the first half of the financial year Specialist Building revenue was £44.4m (2015: £42.5m), with an operating profit of £1.1m (2015: £1.0m). The forward order book increased by 11% to £99m (2015: £89m).  This market remains robust and the Group has fully secured revenue for the second half of this financial year with very good visibility of workload through 2017.

Strategy

We continue to pursue our strategy of maximising organic growth whilst seeking further earnings enhancing acquisitions. Our independently branded subsidiary businesses deliver a large volume of tasks across critical infrastructure networks, supporting their day-to-day operation. Delivering planned and emergency maintenance services for our clients with our responsive, directly employed workforce provides a key differentiator in our markets, producing growth opportunities.

Brian May

Chief Executive

24 May 2016

Group income statement

for the six months ended 31 March 2016

		Before amortisation of intangible assets	Amortisation of intangible assets	Six months ended 31 March		Before amortisation of intangible assets	Amortisation of intangible assets	Year ended 30 September
		2016	2016	2016	2015	2015	2015	2015
	Note	Unaudited £000	Unaudited £000	Unaudited £000	Unaudited £000	Audited £000	Audited £000	Audited £000
Group revenue from continuing activities	2	265,079	-	265,079	252,148	519,645	-	519,645
Cost of sales		(234,261)	-	(234,261)	(221,749)	(462,154)	-	(462,154)
Gross profit		30,818	-	30,818	30,399	57,491	-	57,491
Administrative expenses		(20,340)	(1,477)	(21,817)	(22,343)	(37,121)	(3,536)	(40,657)
Operating profit	2	10,478	(1,477)	9,001	8,056	20,370	(3,536)	16,834
Finance income		131	-	131	124	27	-	27
Finance costs		(333)	-	(333)	(518)	(939)	-	(939)
Other finance income - defined benefit pension schemes		-	-	-	49	189	-	189
Profit before income tax	2	10,276	(1,477)	8,799	7,711	19,647	(3,536)	16,111
Income tax expense	4	(2,026)	266	(1,760)	(1,581)	(3,579)	636	(2,943)
Profit for the period from continuing activities		8,250	(1,211)	7,039	6,130	16,068	(2,900)	13,168
Loss for the period from discontinued operations	3			-	-			(7,263)
Profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent company				7,039	6,130			5,905
Basic earnings per share from continuing activities	5			11.35p	9.96p			21.34p
Diluted earnings per share from continuing activities	5			11.26p	9.84p			21.06p
Basic earnings per share	5			11.35p	9.96p			9.57p
Diluted earnings per share	5			11.26p	9.84p			9.44p
Proposed dividend	6			2.65p	2.25p			7.00p

*Operating profit for the six months ended 31 March 2015 is stated after charging £1,749,000 of amortisation cost.

Group statement of comprehensive income

for the six months ended 31 March 2016

		Six months ended		Year ended
		31 March		30 September
		2016	2015	2015
		Unaudited	Unaudited	Audited
		£000	£000	£000
Profit for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent company		7,039	6,130	5,905
Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss:
Movement in actuarial valuation of the defined benefit pension schemes		-	-	8,880
Movement on deferred tax relating to the defined benefit pension schemes		-	-	(1,570)
Total items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss		-	-	7,310
Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Exchange movement in reserves		135	261	304
Total items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss		135	261		304
Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to equity holders of the parent company		7,174	6,391		13,519

Group statement of changes in equity

for the six months ended 31 March 2016

	Called up	Share	Capital	Cumulative	Share based		Total
	share	premium	redemption	translation	payments	Retained	equity
	capital	account	reserve	adjustment	reserve	earnings	Unaudited
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
At 1 October 2014	6,152	5,942	3,896	752	292	(3,160)	13,874
Transfer from income statement for the period						6,130	6,130
Dividends paid						(2,153)	(2,153)
New shares issued	40	1,047					1,087
Recognition of share based payments					(85)		(85)
Exchange differences				261			261
At 31 March 2015	6,192	6,989	3,896	1,013	207	817	19,114
Transfer from income statement for the period						(225)	(225)
Dividends paid						(1,393)	(1,393)
Recognition of share based payments					120		120
Exchange differences				43			43
Actuarial gains recognised in pension schemes						8,880	8,880
Movement on deferred tax relating to the pension schemes						(1,570)	(1,570)
At 30 September 2015	6,192	6,989	3,896	1,056	327	6,509	24,969
Transfer from income statement for the period						7,039	7,039
Dividends paid						(2,960)	(2,960)
New shares issued	40	1,492					1,532
Recognition of share based payments					11		11
Exchange differences				135			135
At 31 March 2016	6,232	8,481	3,896	1,191	338	10,588	30,726

Group balance sheet 

at 31 March 2016

		31 March		30 September
		2016	2015	2015
			(Restated*)
		Unaudited	Unaudited	Audited
		£000	£000	£000
Non-current assets
Intangible assets
- goodwill		56,260	56,060	56,060
- other		2,757	6,021	4,234
Property, plant and equipment		14,095	12,958	13,101
Retirement benefit assets		17,284	3,136	15,154
Deferred tax assets		1,673	2,941	1,718
		92,069	81,116	90,267
Current assets
Inventories		5,077	4,559	4,864
Trade and other receivables		94,452	100,962	96,960
Assets held for resale		1,567	-	-
Current tax assets		1,389	-	2,187
Cash and cash equivalents		8,192	4,705	10,662
		110,677	110,226	114,673
Total assets		202,746	191,342	204,940
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings		(6,200)	(12,400)	(9,300)
Obligations under finance leases		(2,134)	(2,831)	(2,514)
Retirement benefit obligations		(407)	-	(599)
Deferred tax liabilities		(3,654)	(1,190)	(3,537)
Provisions		(580)	(1,232)	(1,232)
		(12,975)	(17,653)	(17,182)
Current liabilities
Borrowings		(6,200)	(6,200)	(6,200)
Trade and other payables		(149,881)	(144,822)	(153,612)
Obligations under finance leases		(2,944)	(2,519)	(2,609)
Current tax liabilities		-	(666)	-
Provisions		(20)	(368)	(368)
		(159,045)	(154,575)	(162,789)
Total liabilities		(172,020)	(172,228)	(179,971)
Net assets		30,726	19,114	24,969
Share capital		6,232	6,192	6,192
Share premium account		8,481	6,989	6,989
Capital redemption reserve		3,896	3,896	3,896
Cumulative translation adjustment		1,191	1,013	1,056
Share based payments reserve		338	207	327
Retained earnings		10,588	817	6,509
Total equity		30,726	19,114	24,969
*2015 comparative balance sheet has been restated to reflect fair value adjustments recognised in the year ended 30 September 2015 statutory accounts.

 

Group cashflow statement

for the six months ended 31 March 2016

	Six months ended		Year ended
	31 March		30 September
	2016	2015	2015
	Unaudited	Unaudited	Audited
	£000	£000	£000
Profit for the period from continuing operations	7,039	6,130	13,168
Amortisation of intangible assets	1,477	1,749	3,536
Depreciation	1,968	2,152	3,927
Profit on sale of property, plant and equipment	(275)	(60)	(278)
Charge in respect of share option exercise	1,532	1,087	1,087
Increase in inventories	(91)	(355)	(586)
Increase in receivables	(2,063)	(15,215)	(14,191)
Increase in payables	253	11,678	18,741
Current service cost in respect of defined benefit pension scheme	29	29	248
Cash contribution to defined benefit schemes	(2,322)	(1,680)	(4,279)
Charge/(credit) in respect of share options	11	(85)	35
Finance income	(131)	(124)	(27)
Finance costs and expense	333	469	750
Interest paid	(333)	(518)	(939)
Income taxes paid	(800)	(1,675)	(3,066)
Income tax expense	1,760	1,581	2,943
Net cash inflow from continuing operating activities	8,387	5,163	21,069
Net cash outflow from discontinued operating activities	(2,003)	(168)	(3,590)
Net cash inflow from operating activities	6,384	4,995	17,479
Investing activities
Interest received	131	124	27
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment	359	106	530
Purchases of property, plant and equipment	(1,471)	(585)	(1,454)
(Acquisition)/disposal of subsidiaries net of cash acquired	(208)	1,142	1,135
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from continuing investing activities	(1,189)	787	238
Net cash inflow from discontinued investing activities	-	168	162
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from investing activities	(1,189)	955	400
Financing activities
Dividends paid	(2,960)	(2,153)	(3,546)
Loan repayments	(3,100)	(3,100)	(6,200)
Repayment of obligations under finance leases	(1,620)	(1,585)	(3,067)
Net cash outflow from financing activities	(7,680)	(6,838)	(12,813)
Net (decrease)/increase in continuing cash and cash equivalents	(482)	(888)	8,494
Net decrease in discontinued cash and cash equivalents	(2,003)	-	(3,428)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents	(2,485)	(888)	5,066
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period	10,662	5,586	5,586
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes	15	7	10
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period	8,192	4,705	10,662
Bank balances and cash	8,192	4,705	10,662

 

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

Note 1 - Basis of preparation

(a) The consolidated interim financial report for the six months ended 31 March 2016 and the equivalent period in 2015 have not been audited or reviewed by the Group's auditor. They do not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. They have been prepared under the historical cost convention and on a going concern basis in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union. This interim financial report does not comply with IAS34 "Interim Financial Reporting", which is not currently required to be applied for AIM companies.  This interim report was approved by the Directors on 24 May 2016.

(b) The accounts for the year ended 30 September 2015 were prepared under IFRS and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditor on those accounts was unqualified, did not contain an emphasis of matter paragraph and did not contain any statement under Section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. In this report, the comparative figures for the year ended 30 September 2015 have been audited. The comparative figures for the period ended 31 March 2015 are unaudited.

(c) For the year ending 30 September 2016, there are no new accounting standards, which have been adopted by the EU, applied and implemented for this interim financial report.

(d) On 31 October 2014 Places for People Group Limited ("PFP") acquired 50% of the ordinary share capital of Allenbuild Ltd, a Specialist Building subsidiary.  PFP acquired the remaining 50% on 31 January 2016.  Consequently, Allenbuild Ltd has been treated as a discontinued business.

(e) The Directors are satisfied that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. 

This interim statement is being sent to all shareholders and is also available upon request from the Company Secretary, Renew Holdings plc, Yew Trees, Main Street North, Aberford, West Yorkshire LS25 3AA, or via the website www.renewholdings.com.

Note 2 - Segmental analysis                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Operating segments have been identified based on the internal reporting information provided to the Group's Chief Operating Decision Maker. From such information, Engineering Services and Specialist Building have been determined to represent operating segments.               

			Six months ended                        31 March					Year ended 30 September
			2016		2015			2015
			Unaudited		Unaudited			Audited
Revenue is analysed as follows:			£000		£000			£000
Engineering Services			221,345		209,753			440,502
Specialist Building			44,375		42,477			79,492
Inter segment revenue			(641)		(82)			(380)
Segment revenue			265,079		252,148			519,614
Central activities			-		-			31
Group revenue from continuing operations			265,079		252,148			519,645
	Before amortisation of intangible assets	Amortisation of intangible assets	Six months ended 31 March			Before amortisation of intangible assets	Amortisation of intangible assets		Year ended 30 September
	2016 Unaudited	2016 Unaudited	2016 Unaudited	2015 Unaudited		2015 Audited	2015 Audited		2015 Audited
	£000	£000	£000	£000		£000	£000		£000
Analysis of operating profit
Engineering Services	10,406	(1,477)	8,929	7,916		20,055	(3,536)		16,519
Specialist Building	1,054	-	1,054	1,046		2,274	-		2,274
Segment operating profit	11,460	(1,477)	9,983	8,962		22,329	(3,536)		18,793
Central activities	(982)	-	(982)	(906)		(1,959)	-		(1,959)
Operating profit	10,478	(1,477)	9,001	8,056		20,370	(3,536)		16,834
Net financing expense	(202)	-	(202)	(345)		(723)	-		(723)
Profit before income tax	10,276	(1,477)	8,799	7,711		19,647	(3,536)		16,111

*Operating profit for the six months ended 31 March 2015 is stated after charging £1,749,000 of amortisation cost.

Note 3 - Discontinued operations

	Six months ended					Year ended
	31 March					30 September
	2016		2015		2015
	Unaudited		Unaudited		Audited
	£000		£000		£000

Revenue                                                                                     4,876                         19,343                            31,947

Expenses	(4,876)		(19,343)		(41,278)
Profit on disposal	-		-		1,250
Loss before income tax	-		-		(8,081)
Income tax credit - benefit of tax losses	-		-		818
Loss for the period from discontinued operations	-		-		(7,263)

Note 4 - Income tax expense

	Six months ended		Year ended
	31 March		30 September
	2016	2015	2015
	Unaudited	Unaudited	Audited
	£000	£000	£000
Current tax:
UK corporation tax on profits for the period	(1,598)	(1,646)	(2,360)
Adjustments in respect of previous periods	-	-	1,359
Total current tax	(1,598)	(1,646)	(1,001)
Deferred tax	(162)	65	(1,942)
Income tax expense	(1,760)	(1,581)	(2,943)

Note 5 - Earnings per share       

Six months ended 31 March												Year ended 30 September
		2016				2015							2015
		Unaudited					Unaudited						Audited
	Earnings	EPS	DEPS		Earnings		EPS		DEPS			Earnings	EPS			DEPS
	£000	Pence	Pence		£000		Pence		Pence			£000	Pence			Pence
Earnings before amortisation	8,250	13.31	13.20		7,529		12.24		12.09			16,068	26.03			25.70
Amortisation	(1,211)	(1.96)	(1.94)		(1,399)		(2.28)		(2.25)			(2,900)	(4.69)			(4.64)
Basic earnings per share - continuing operations	7,039	11.35	11.26		6,130		9.96		9.84			13,168	21.34			21.06
Loss for the period from discontinued operations	-	-	-		-		-		-			(7,263)	(11.77)			(11.62)
Basic earnings per share	7,039	11.35	11.26		6,130		9.96		9.84			5,905	9.57			9.44
Weighted average number of shares		62,001	62,524				61,525		62,286				61,718		62,533

The dilutive effect of share options is to increase the number of shares by 523,000 (March 2015: 761,000; September 2015: 815,000) and reduce basic earnings per share by 0.09p (March 2015: 0.12p; September 2015: 0.13p).  On 15 January 2016, 400,000 new Ordinary shares of 10p each were issued following the exercise of share options bringing the total number in issue to 62,317,948.

Note 6 - Dividends                        

The proposed interim dividend is 2.65p per share (2015: 2.25p).  This will be paid out of the Company's available distributable reserves to shareholders on the register on 3 June 2016, payable on 4 July 2016. In accordance with      IAS 1, dividends are recorded only when paid and are shown as a movement in equity rather than as a charge in the income statement.

 

END

 

 

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