Final Results
MITIE Group PLC
23 July 2001
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EMBARGO: THE CONTENTS OF THIS RELEASE
ARE SUBJECT TO EMBARGO UNDER STOCK EXCHANGE
REGULATIONS UNTIL 0700 AM 23 JULY 2001.
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23 July 2001
MITIE Group PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR
ENDED 31 MARCH 2001
QUALITY GROWTH
* Pre-tax profit up 30% to £25.1m (2000 - £19.2m)
* Turnover up 20% to £415.4m (2000 - £346.5m)
* Earnings per share up 23% to 5.0p (2000 - 4.1p)
* Total dividend per share up 25% to 1.25p (2000 - 1p)
David Telling, Chairman, reports 'The year has started well and we look
forward to another year of satisfactory growth.'
Notes:
MITIE: Management Incentive Through Investment Equity.
ACTIVITY: MITIE Group PLC provides Support and Building Services to the
owners and occupiers of commercial and industrial premises.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
On 23 July 2001
David Telling, Chairman, MITIE Group PLC 020 7772 2583
John Urquhart, Corporate Affairs, MITIE 020 7772 2583
Group PLC
Mobile: 07979 701 006
at Merrill Lynch International 020 7772 1000
(switchboard)
Subsequently -
MITIE Group PLC, Head Office 01934 862006
EXTRACTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Financial Overview
Your Company has had another good year and continues to grow in accordance
with expectations. Pre-tax profit amounted to £25.1m, an increase of 30.3%
over last year. Turnover reached £415m, an improvement of 19.9% of which
organic growth accounted for 17.7%. Earnings per share improved by 23.3% from
4.1p to 5.0p.
Proposed Final Dividend
Your Directors are proposing a final dividend of 0.7p per share making a total
of 1.25p on the sub-divided shares, an increase of 25% from the previous year.
This is in line with our policy of linking the dividend to the improvement in
earnings per share and leaves the dividend covered four times. This dividend
will be paid on 1 October 2001 to Shareholders on the Register on 7 September
2001.
New Companies
Five new companies were started during the financial year, including two that
I mentioned in my last annual report, MITIE Cleanrooms Ltd and MITIE
Pharmaceutical Engineering (Southern) Ltd. Both of these are in the
Engineering Discipline and were formed as niche market companies, a strategy
that is being developed steadily and successfully. Neither made profit during
the year, nor was this expected, but the anticipated profitability of these
and other nursery companies in the current year will have a beneficial effect
on earnings.
In addition we formed MITIE Engineering Services (Swansea) Ltd and
restructured MITIE Engineering Services (Midlands) Ltd as geographical
in-fills and started two entirely new companies namely MITIE PFI Ltd and MITIE
Flooring (Southern) Ltd.
We acquired the assets of Roofing Services Ltd and put them into a new
company, MITIE Roofing Services Ltd. The McCartney Group Ltd, a majority of
which was acquired in June 2000, now trades as MITIE McCartney Fire Protection
Ltd within our Property Services discipline. Both companies are performing
well.
Segmental Analysis
Activity Turnover Turnover Pre-Tax Pre-Tax Pre-Tax Pre-Tax
£'000 2001 £'000 Profit Profit Profit Profit
2000 £'000 £'000 Margin Margin
2001 2000 % 2001 % 2000
Building 249,765 210,462 12,493 10,442 5.0 5.0
Services
Support 165,610 136,052 12,582 8,798 7.6 6.5
Services
415,375 346,514 25,075 19,240 6.0 5.6
BUILDING SERVICES
The Building Services Division consists of Access Systems, Engineering
Services and Property Services, subsequent to the incorporation of MITIE
Lindsay Ltd into the latter. Following its large increase in turnover in
recent months, the Division has consolidated its position and maintained its
margin, whilst strengthening the infrastructure to enable it to handle the new
levels of business. The forward workload is strong.
Engineering Services
MITIE Engineering Services has continued to grow, especially in the South
East, North and Midlands and in Wales. The discipline's growing reputation for
high quality, fast-track projects in the refurbishment sector has fuelled this
and the clients included Coca-Cola, Dresdner Bank, T Rowe Price, Carphone
Warehouse and JP Morgan.
Work for universities has featured prominently in all regions. MITIE
Pharmaceutical Engineering (Southern) Ltd has enhanced MITIE's reputation for
specialist chemistry laboratory projects by securing two sizeable contracts at
Sussex University. Considerable efforts have been made to drive the concept of
partnering through the business and MITIE Engineering Services is a
sought-after partner for many companies for work on a nationwide basis. We
have continued to win repeat business from major clients such as BT, Cannons
Health & Fitness Ltd, The Savoy Group, GE, Cine UK, Primark and Woolworths.
Other major projects awarded during the year were Trillium's Head Office and
the conversion of the Great Northern Warehouse in Manchester.
Property Services
MITIE Property Services has had an exciting year at the forefront of change,
quickly becoming recognised as the leader in the supply of integrated services
in a previously fragmented and parochial market. It is one of a very few
companies able to provide a nationwide service and this has enabled it to win
such contracts with new and existing clients as well as entering into
partnership agreements with suppliers. The discipline is currently involved in
tendering for large central and local government contracts.
Meanwhile valued repeat business has been won from Durham and Queen Margaret
Universities, Greater Glasgow Health Board and Bournemouth, Brent, Colchester,
Epping and South Ribble Borough Councils and in the private sector from AXA
Sunlife, Trillium and Haden FM. New clients include BUPA, Johnson Controls,
First Great Western and City & Counties Housing Association.
Roofing companies have won business for HM Prison Service, Marconi, Woolworths
and West Yorkshire PTE. The new companies in Flooring and Roofing have made
good starts.
Access Systems
MITIE Access Systems has extended the geographical coverage of its hire and
sale business, MITIE Generation Ltd, by opening new branches in Newcastle and
Southampton, giving a total of 16 branches. It added new products in response
to market opportunities and traded satisfactorily throughout the year.
The access contracting businesses in England have been operating
satisfactorily and won a major scaffold contract for Gleeson Rail at Crystal
Palace Railway Station. In Scotland, Access contracting is now trading
profitably. MITIE Powered Access Ltd, now operating from six locations,
enjoyed high levels of machine utilisation throughout the year.
SUPPORT SERVICES
The Support Services Division continues to grow and to improve margin steadily
under a strong and experienced management team. The principal disciplines are
Cleaning, Engineering Maintenance and Managed Services. The nursery companies
of Catering and Security are part of Cleaning, while Managed Services assumes
a guiding role for Business Services and PFI.
Cleaning
The driver for growth has been the ability to compete at the highest level for
the ever bigger and often multi-activity contracts that make up the business
of servicing the facilities of large companies, government departments and
similar establishments. Contracts are getting longer which provides stability
for the workforce and assured forward work. Our association with Trillium,
forged under pioneering conditions for the Prime contract with the DSS, is an
example of the partnerships which are now being formed to service these
developing opportunities. We are working closely with Trillium and believe
there is further opportunity to extend our partnership with them.
I have previously reported a successful contract win for MITIE Cleaning with
WS Atkins on behalf of Barclays Bank. An even larger contract was awarded in
the second half by Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest to clean all its
buildings in the north of England and Scotland, doubling the existing contract
to approximately £8m per annum. Our contract with BAe Systems, with whom we
have had a long relationship as their cleaning contractor, was recently
re-tendered successfully and now extends to all their sites on a national
basis. Cleaning was also successful in retaining and extending its contract
with Prudential, which has now become national.
Engineering Maintenance
A successful year reflects the discipline's increased capacity to deliver a
quality service on large contracts nationally. It has won a multi-million
pound contract for electrical and mechanical maintenance for the MoD at
Corsham, through Interserve. The West Country office has had to move to larger
premises in Bristol. In the Midlands, it built on an existing maintenance
contract with Alliance & Leicester by extending it to include considerably
more office buildings. Additionally it won noteworthy contracts for WorldCom
at Reading and Microsoft and Nokia in London.
Managed Services
I am pleased to report that MITIE Business Services Ltd, which only started
trading in December 1999, is already in profit having commenced major
contracts with Merrill Lynch, Railtrack and Linklaters. MITIE PFI Ltd has now
signed the 25 year service contract for Newbury College and MITIE Managed
Services Ltd won and has started the facility management contract for
Sainsbury's Head Offices in London.
All companies within the Support Services Division have ISO 9002 accreditation
and have also achieved OSHAS 18000, with MITIE Engineering Maintenance Ltd
also being accredited for REFCOM Environmental. The companies are working
closely with the British Quality Foundation with the aim of achieving EFQM
accreditation in the near future.
Conclusion
Your Directors will strive to enhance the Company's reputation, develop its
people and provide the best possible service to its customers. The year has
started well and we look forward to another year of satisfactory growth.
DAVID M TELLING
Chairman
MITIE Group PLC
Group Profit and Loss Account (Unaudited)
for the year ended 31 March 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Turnover 415,375 346,514
Cost of sales (315,328) (266,711)
Gross Profit 100,047 79,803
Administrative expenses (75,020) (60,315)
Operating Profit 25,027 19,488
Interest 48 (248)
Profit on Ordinary Activities Before Tax 25,075 19,240
Tax on Profit on Ordinary Activities (8,420) (6,080)
Profit on Ordinary Activities After Tax 16,655 13,160
Minority interest (2,703) (2,067)
Attributable Profit for the Financial Year 13,952 11,093
Dividends - equity (3,497) (2,751)
Retained Profit for the Financial Year 10,455 8,342
Earnings per Ordinary Share - basic 5.0p 4.1p
- diluted 4.9p 4.0p
MITIE Group PLC
Group Balance Sheet (Unaudited)
as at 31 March 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Fixed Assets
Intangible assets 8,597 4,283
Tangible assets 48,123 39,090
56,720 43,373
Current Assets
Work in progress and stocks 24,244 17,511
Debtors 70,365 56,855
Cash at bank and in hand 6,135 2,102
100,744 76,468
Creditors - due within one year (94,182) (75,964)
Net Current Assets 6,562 504
Total Assets less Current Liabilities 63,282 43,877
Creditors - due after one year (788) (661)
Provision for liabilities and charges (2,191) (1,566)
60,303 41,650
Capital and Reserves
Called up share capital 6,991 6,851
Share premium account 13,738 7,067
Revaluation reserve (514) (524)
Profit and loss account 29,951 19,506
Equity Shareholders' funds 50,166 32,900
Minority interest 10,137 8,750
60,303 41,650
MITIE Group PLC
Group Cash Flow Statement (Unaudited)
for the year ended 31 March 2001
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Net cash inflow from operating activities 33,111 22,781
Return on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received 75 159
Interest paid (100) (492)
Interest element of finance lease rentals (7) (14)
(32) (347)
Tax
UK corporation tax paid (6,763) (6,556)
Capital expenditure
Payments to acquire intangible fixed assets - (359)
Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets (20,057) (17,777)
Receipts from sales of tangible fixed assets 1,117 1,993
(18,940) (16,143)
Acquisitions and disposals
Payments to acquire subsidiary undertakings (1,015) (218)
Net Cash/(overdraft) acquired with subsidiary 525 (8)
undertakings
(490) (226)
Equity dividends paid (3,194) (2,451)
Cash Inflow/(outflow) before financing 3,692 (2,942)
Financing
Issue of ordinary share capital 590 1,406
Net unsecured loans received 157 267
Capital element of finance lease rental payments (57) (104)
Repayment of unsecured loans due within one year (52) (98)
Repayment of unsecured loans due after one year - (5,000)
638 (3,529)
Increase/(decrease) in cash in the period 4,330 (6,471)
MITIE Group PLC
Group net cash inflow from operating activities (Unaudited)
2001 2000
£'000 £'000
Operating profit 25,027 19,488
Depreciation 11,784 8,944
Amortisation of goodwill 73 518
Profit on sale of tangible fixed assets (789) (727)
(Increase) in work in progress and stocks (5,955) (1,452)
(Increase) in debtors (11,186) (14,597)
Increase in creditors 14,157 10,607
33,111 22,781
NOTES:
1. Dividend
The Directors are recommending a final dividend of 0.7p per 21/2p
Ordinary Share, making a total dividend for the year ended 31 March 2001
of 1.25p per share. If approved at the Annual General Meeting, the final
dividend will be paid on 1 October 2001 to Shareholders on the Register on
7 September 2001. On 2 April 2001, each Ordinary Share of 5p was
subdivided into two Ordinary Shares of 21/2p each.
2. Earnings Per Share
Earnings per share are calculated by reference to the profit after tax and
minorities for the financial year of £13,952,000 (2000: £11,093,000) and
on the weighted average number of 21/2p Ordinary Shares in issue during
the year of 277,603,608 (2000: 272,327,306).
3. The consolidated profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statements
have been prepared on a basis consistent with the accounts for the year
ended 31 March 2000.
4. The Annual General Meeting will be held at The Stable Block, Barley Wood,
Wrington, Bristol, BS40 5SA, on 20 September 2001 at Noon.
5. The financial information set out above does not comprise the Company's
statutory accounts. Statutory accounts for the previous financial year
ended 31 March 2000 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The
auditors' report on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain any
statement under Section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985.