City briefs; Proactis and Persimmon
Global spend management firm Proactis has reported revenue of £24.5m in its latest interim results for the six-month period ended 31 January 2020.
It compares with £27.7m for the previous period ended 31 January 2019, with the Wetherby-based company attributing this to “high customer churn in prior years”.
Total Contract Value, excluding renewals, signed was £7.5m (H1 FY2019: £6.1m; H2 FY2019: £5.2m), an increase of 44% against H2 FY2019.
Adjusted EBITDA decreased to £5.6m (31 January 2019: £8.0m), while net bank debt decreased to £35.6m (31 July 2019: £36.5m).
Chief executive officer Tim Sykes said: “The Group has returned to organic growth of ARR in its core business during the period and to date as a result of improved new business performance and customer retention which, along with a strong pipeline build across all of the geographies that we operate, are clear indicators the Board’s strategy is working well.
“In addition, the technical progress on our new product, bePayd, has been substantial and it is now ready for market and commercialisation.
“The Group has dealt with the immediate effect of the COVID-19 crisis extremely well and the recurring revenue, long-term contract business model is proving resilient at this stage.
“Our team is performing well, remaining highly connected and there has been no disruption to customer service.
“We remain vigilant to any indicators of risk, particularly around staff welfare, deferred pipeline build, reduced volume in transactional-priced contracts and potential delays to implementation projects which may have a more significant impact on the business if the crisis persists.”
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House builder Persimmon has reported a strong start to the year in the period before the Coronavirus lockdown.
The York-headquartered business says it is managing to respond to the crisis from a position of strength.
It notes customer enquiries have remained at good levels through the lockdown period, providing an encouraging indication of resilience of demand.
The firm’s current forward sales position, including legal completions taken to date in 2020, remains robust at £2.4bn (2019: £2.7bn).
As announced on 24 April 2020, the Group has begun a phased restart to work on its construction sites.
Its update adds: “Persimmon’s strong financial liquidity has enabled the Group to maintain its operational capability by supporting all our colleagues on full pay through the site shutdown period.
“The Group’s suppliers and subcontractors have been offered financial support, to help them manage through the crisis and preserve jobs and to ensure continuity of supply in the recovery.”
Dave Jenkinson, group chief executive, said: “We recognise the important contribution we make to the economy and wider society, and are determined to play our part.
“The Government has been clear it wants the UK’s housebuilders to get back to building and this week we have started the phased process of getting back to work safely on site in order to deliver the new homes the country needs.”
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Persimmon has announced the appointment of Annemarie Durbin to the Board as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 July 2020.
She will also join the company’s Remuneration Committee as chair, and the Nomination Committee, on the same date.
Durbin has 30 years broad-based, retail, commercial, corporate and institutional banking experience across Asia, Africa & the Middle East and is an experienced coach and mentor.
She spent 20 years at Standard Chartered, the FTSE 100 international bank, in a variety of executive roles across the UK and Asia, culminating in membership of the Group Executive Committee.
She has subsequently become a highly experienced board chair, independent non-executive director and Remuneration Committee chair.
She is currently a non-executive director and Remuneration Committee chair of WH Smith and Santander UK, and is non-executive board chair of Merryck & Co a coaching and mentoring group. She was previously a non-executive director of Ladbrokes Coral.
Roger Devlin, chairman of Persimmon, said: “Annemarie is a highly experienced international business executive, with a strong background in corporate governance and human resources.
“Her experience and knowledge will be invaluable to Persimmon as we continue to implement our programme of business improvement. I am pleased to welcome Annemarie to the board.”
Marion Sears, who was due to retire as a non-executive director of the company, and chair of the Remuneration Committee at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 29 April 2020, will remain on the Board until 30 June 2020 to allow time for Durbin to take up her post.
