City round-up: Strix; Science in Sport; Speedy; Coral Products
AIM-listed Strix Group will continue to focus on reducing debt, it said in a pre-AGM statement this morning.
The Isle of Man-based kettle controls, appliances, and water purification and disinfection solutions group, issued a bulletin ahead of its 9am AGM which contained a statement from chief executive, Mark Bartlett, who said: “We will prioritise debt reduction with a clear plan to get net debt/EBITDA to below 2.0x during 2023 and to below 1.5x during 2024.
“As capital allocation decisions prioritise this, the board, as previously announced, has decided after reviewing the level of net debt to propose a final dividend of 3.25p per share which would represent a total dividend of 6.00p per share.”
On current trading, he said: “We are pleased to report an improved trading performance and can confirm that profit after tax for the full year remains in line with market expectations.”
Current profit after tax consensus for the year ended December 31, 2023, is £25.8m.
Mr Bartlett added: “At our full year results, we highlighted that, following a period of uncertainty across a number of Strix’s key export markets, sales data in 2023 indicated some green shoots were appearing. I can report that this trend has continued with group performance in Q2 improving versus Q1. We are continuing to receive increased frequency of orders from customers, albeit with smaller quantities as they manage their cash balances prudently.
“We also continue to make successful progress on the integration of Billi which is in line and remains on track with our plan for the full year. This is another step that will propel Strix into a new growth phase, further diversifying away from the core Kettle Controls business.
“Alongside this, we are continuing to implement a range of strategic initiatives across the business which include a functional streamlining programme to minimise the impact of the ongoing headwinds Strix is facing.”
In October last year Strix announced a £38m bid for Australian business, Billi, funded by a new long term loan and a £10m share placing. Billi is a leading brand supplying premium filtered and non-filtered instant boiling, chilled and sparkling water systems, with operations across Australia and New Zealand.
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Science in Sport
Sports nutrition specialist, Science in Sport (SiS) confirmed the restoration of trading in its shares this morning.
Yesterday (July 3), it announced their temporary suspension due to an audit delay.
However, today it confirmed publication of its audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2022.
The key metrics for revenues and pre-tax loss are the same as the unaudited accounts it issued on June 29, 2023, which revealed a two per cent increase in sales, of £63.773m, but a pre-tax loss of £10.6m compared with a pre-tax loss of £5.3m the previous year.
SiS, which has a key production site in Blackburn, explained that it had been hit with £4.3m costs in the financial year including the closure of its Russian business (£1.7m), port congestion issues in the US (£0.9m) and supply chain issues of PhD Smart Bars over the summer from its supplier (£1.7m).
But it said its 2023 figures will benefit from completion of its £8m investment in its new Blackburn plant during the 2022 fiscal year.
It said the 160,000 sq ft logistics hub has the capacity to generate more than £200m in revenue.
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Speedy electric vehicle
Speedy Hire is procuring more more sustainable assets into its hire fleet including those with solar, hybrid, electric and hydrogen technology. During its last financial year, the company invested £52.1m in its hire fleet, of which 51% was on sustainable equipment.
The Newton-le-Willows headquartered business said it has a target to ensure that such ‘eco’ products account for 70% of its itemised equipment fleet by 2027.
Speedy Hire has sealed a partnership with mobile elevating work platform manufacturer Niftylift to design, manufacture and bring to market the world’s first hydrogen-electric powered access platform.
The two British companies have developed the zero-emission platform and agreed a three-year partnership worth £9m in the first year, that will see Niftylift manufacture and supply the zero-emission lifts at its Milton Keynes facility exclusively to Speedy Hire, alongside an additional fleet of Niftylift hybrid powered access platforms.
Dan Evans, Chief Executive at Speedy Hire, said: “We have a strong history of leading the market in combining product innovation and sustainability, and our collaboration with Niftylift is yet another example of that. This world-first technology is a game changer for UK construction companies, enabling them to start using equipment powered by a zero-emission fuel such as hydrogen.
Our investment into this partnership with Niftylift enables us to accelerate the sustainable and technological evolution of the sectors we operate in and supports our ambitious plan to become a net zero business by 2040, ten years ahead of the government target.”
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Coral Products has said in a statement that an earn-out payment will be paid to the shareholders of APL a business it acquired last year.
Better than expected results at APL, with reported sales in the earn out period of £9.6 million and an Adjusted EBITDA of £0.6m, means Coral will be paying £1,275,000 to the vendors, making the total price paid for APL £2,775,000.
Coral has also sold an unused property in Parr, St Helens which it acquired when it bought Film & Foil Solutions in May 2022. The unencumbered property was sold for £225,000, having been valued on the balance sheet as at 30 April 2023 at £200,000.
