Trading Update & Notice of Results

RNS Number : 5627B

Van Elle Holdings PLC

11 June 2021

 

Van Elle Holdings plc

("Van Elle", the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading Update

 Notice of Results

& Investor Presentation

Van Elle Holdings plc (AIM: VANL), the UK's largest ground engineering contractor, today provides a trading update for the year ended 30 April 2021 (the "Period") ahead of announcing its final results, which are expected to be released on Tuesday 17 August 2021.

Trading during the final quarter of the Period continued to improve alongside the easing of Covid restrictions, with strong performances in March and April, and exit rate revenues at the end of the financial year returned to pre-pandemic levels. The Board is encouraged that this increased level of activity has continued into the new financial year, albeit remaining mindful of industry-wide supply chain pressures which are, in some instances, impacting material costs and availability.

Most divisions have seen a strong recovery in activity levels and were operating at near capacity in the last two months of the Period.  Strata, the Group's earliest cycle business, and a positive leading indicator for the other divisions, has seen strong tendering and activity levels through the Period end. Revenues stabilised in General Piling during the fourth quarter, following a relatively volatile winter period, while Housing and Specialist Piling both saw a continuation of the high workloads that have been experienced throughout H2. Activity in the Rail division has been the slowest to recover and continues to lag pre-pandemic levels, due to delays on key projects, but is now experiencing increased tendering activity from CP6 regional work banks and importantly, the first of the next generation of electrification programmes.

ScrewFast is integrating well into the Group and has made a positive start since the acquisition on 1 April 2021, particularly in the Highways sector where they have secured further Smart Motorway opportunities.

Revenue for the Period, subject to completion of the audit review, is now expected to be c.£85m (2020: £84.4m) and the Board expects the adjusted loss before tax to be slightly ahead of consensus forecasts.

The Group's cash position as at 30 April 2021 was £8.5m (31 October 2020: £9.8m), after taking account of the initial payment for the acquisition of ScrewFast Foundations Limited of £1.8m, and the purchase of six new rigs at a cost of £2.2m to invest in additional capacity and a continual updating of the fleet. The Group also continues to invest in retaining and attracting key resources to prepare for growth as our core markets recover from the pandemic.

Net funds, excluding IFRS 16 property and vehicle leases, was £3.8m as at 30 April 2021 (31 October 2020: £4.5m).

The order book at 1 June 2021 was £26.4m (7 January 2021: £23.6m). 

 

Notice of Results and Analyst Briefing:

Van Elle expects to announce its final results on Tuesday 17 August 2021. A briefing for Analysts will be held at 9.30am on the morning of the results.  Analysts interested in attending should contact Walbrook PR on [e-mail] or 020 7933 8780.

Investor Presentation: 3.30pm on Thursday 19 August

Mark Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, and Graeme Campbell, Chief Financial Officer, will hold a presentation to review the results and prospects following their release at 3.30pm on Thursday 19 August 2021, through the digital platform Investor Meet Company.

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet Van Elle Holdings plc via the following link https://www.investormeetcompany.com/van-elle-holdings-plc/register-investor.

Investors who have already registered and added to meet the Company will automatically be invited. Questions can be submitted pre-event to [e-mail], or in real time during the presentation via the "Ask a Question" function.

Enquiries:

Van Elle Holdings plc	Via Walbrook
Mark Cutler, Chief Executive Officer
Graeme Campbell, Chief Financial Officer
Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and corporate broker)	Tel: [phone]
Mike Bell/Ed Allsopp
Walbrook PR Limited	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Tom Cooper/Nick Rome/Nicholas Johnson	07971 221 972 or 07748 325 236 or 07884 664 686

About Van Elle Holdings plc:

Van Elle Holdings is the UK's largest specialist geotechnical engineering contractor. The Company provides a range of ground engineering techniques and services including - ground investigation, general and specialist piling, rail geotechnical engineering, modular foundations, and ground improvement and stabilisation services.

Van Elle operates through three divisions: general piling, specialist piling and ground engineering; and is focused on three end markets; residential and housing, infrastructure and regional construction - across which the Group has completed more than 20,000 projects over the last 35 years.

General piling provides a range of larger piling and ground engineering solutions for open-site construction projects. Specialist piling provides a range of geotechnical solutions in operationally constrained environments including on-track rail applications. Ground engineering services offers a range of ground investigation and geotechnical services and modular foundation solutions such as Smartfoot®. Van Elle has a market-leading reputation and the UK's largest modern rig fleet of 118 rigs.

Having floated on AIM in 2016 it now has a strong national presence, diversified offering and market-leading brand name.

 

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