30th June 2011
Johnson Service Group PLC
Pre-Close Trading Statement
The Board expects to achieve an overall result which is in line with its expectations for both the first half and the full year.
Textile Rental
The Textile Rental division has continued to perform strongly in the first half, in line with our expectations.
Slightly higher revenue, due to a combination of new sales wins and increased activity from within continuing accounts, has been offset by the anticipated cost increases within the supply chain.
Despite ongoing cost pressures, we expect to see a continuing strong performance from this Division in the balance of the year.
Facilities Management
Divisional revenue and operating profit has continued to benefit from the PFI contracts acquired mid - 2010. The potential order pipeline for this Division has been strengthened considerably over the past year resulting in a number of contract wins. These are now starting to generate income and we remain confident about the prospects for this Division.
Drycleaning
We expect Divisional operating profit to be slightly ahead of the same period last year. Like for like sales are expected to be overall some 1% down but these mask considerable weekly fluctuations including the benefit of a normal weather pattern in January 2011 compared to the snow of the previous year.
We introduced new services to enhance our laundry offering to almost half of our locations during May and June and we anticipate that this, together with a continuing focus on controlling costs, will enhance the results of the Division in the second half.
Net Debt
Net debt at the end of June is expected to show a significant reduction from the £59.5 million at December 2010. As reported in March 2011, we received a tax repayment of £5.8 million plus interest in February 2011 which has reduced our net debt position at June 2011. This amount remains subject to agreement with HMRC.
We anticipate announcing the results for the first half of 2011 in mid to late September 2011.
Enquiries:
Johnson Service Group PLC |
|
John Talbot, Executive Chairman |
Yvonne Monaghan, Finance Director |
Tel: 01928 704600 |
Tel: 01928 704600 |
Threadneedle Communications
Graham Herring/John Coles
Tel: 020 7653 9850
Investec Investment Banking |
|
David Flin |
Martin Smith |
Tel: 020 7597 4000 |
Tel: 020 7597 4000 |