TIDMVCP
RNS Number : 0585V
Victoria PLC
12 April 2021
12 April 2021
For Immediate Release
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
Victoria PLC
('Victoria,' the 'Company,' or the 'Group')
Full Year Trading Update
Record Results
Victoria PLC, (LSE: VCP) the international designers,
manufacturers and distributors of innovative flooring, provides the
following trading update for the financial year ended 3 April 2021
("FY21").
The Board is pleased to announce that, in spite of the on-going
COVID-19 related challenges in our markets, the Group has achieved
record results for FY21, reflecting the resilience of the
commercial and operational performance of the business. The Group
expects, subject to finalisation of the accounts and audit, FY21
revenues to be in excess of GBP640 million (FY20: GBP621.5m) -
despite the impact of the April-May 2020 lockdowns, which saw over
GBP50 million of revenue reduction in those two months compared to
the prior year - and underlying EBITDA to be in excess of GBP120
million (2020: GBP118.1m).
Operational Performance
This was a year in which we completed no major acquisitions and
therefore the record trading results were driven by organic
performance. Victoria has invested heavily over the past five years
in building the pre-eminent management team in the European
flooring industry. Their collective deep operational experience,
entrepreneurial initiative, sense of ownership (almost all managers
are shareholders), and, most importantly, their ability to execute
have delivered significant value for shareholders over an extremely
challenging 12 months.
To briefly recap on some key operational achievements:
-- Minimised negative operating cash flow to just GBP6 million
in Q1, during total lockdown in all our main markets - protecting
the business and therefore shareholders by maintaining strong
liquidity and avoiding any requirement for a value-destroying
discounted equity issuance.
-- Capitalised on strong consumer demand by restarting
manufacturing and logistics operations as soon as lawfully
permitted - ahead of competitors. The result was a post-lockdown
double-digit growth in revenues.
-- Completed the integration of Ascot Gruppo Ceramiche providing
production capacity and brands that enabled the annual revenue from
our Italian business to exceed EUR100 million from just EUR28
million four years ago.
-- Sustainable c.200+bps margin expansion. The various
initiatives in logistics and factory productivity, which were
completed on time and on budget, have delivered as exactly planned
and driven meaningful and sustainable margin expansion post
lockdown.
Acquisitions Update
As previously announced, the Board of Victoria has invested a
significant amount of management focus during the past year
identifying additional suitable acquisition opportunities and, more
recently, the Company has reorganised its financing arrangements to
provide it with a significant amount of capital for acquisitions,
as well as extending its debt financing maturities and reducing
interest rates.
The various, and constantly changing, Covid-19 related travel
restrictions that have been in place in the UK and across Europe
during the first three months of the year have impacted the pace of
due diligence. However, recent easing of restrictions in key
geographies have reduced or eliminated this constraint and the
Board anticipates being able to report further acquisition-led
growth in the near future.
Outlook
The trading outlook for the current FY22 financial year is very
encouraging in terms of both revenue and margins.
The Group continues to experience strong, ongoing consumer
demand across its key markets. Furthermore, housing transactions, a
key 12-18 month leading indicator of flooring sales, are at very
high levels - not only in the UK, but across our markets (more than
70% of the Group's earnings are now generated from outside the UK),
which suggests demand will be maintained for some period.
More importantly, the post-lockdown uplift in margin observed in
the interim results published in November 2020 is structural due to
completed synergy projects and therefore sustainable. There have
been some increases in raw material prices in recent months, but
the Group has been able to successfully mitigate these.
However, it clearly remains difficult to forecast accurately
given the ongoing impact of, and uncertainty caused by, government
actions in response to COVID-19 and therefore we will continue to
keep re-instatement of formal earnings guidance under review and
will comment further as soon as we feel it is prudent to do so.
Victoria remains focused on its mission to create wealth for
shareholders.
For more information contact:
Victoria PLC
Geoff Wilding, Executive Chairman
Philippe Hamers, Group Chief Executive
Michael Scott, Group Finance Director +44 (0) 1562 749 610
N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser and Joint
Broker)
Rick Thompson, Phil Davies, Alex Bond +44 (0) 207 496 3095
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Ben Wright, Mark Whitmore, Tejas Padalkar +44 (0) 203 207 7800
Peel Hunt (Joint Broker)
Adrian Trimmings, Andrew Clark +44 (0) 207 418 8900
Buchanan Communications (Financial PR)
Charles Ryland, Chris Lane, Tilly Abraham +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
About Victoria
Established in 1895 and listed since 1963
and on AIM since 2013 (VCP.L), Victoria
PLC, is an international manufacturer and
distributor of innovative flooring products.
The Group, which is headquartered in Kidderminster,
UK, designs, manufactures and distributes
a range of carpet, flooring underlay, ceramic
tiles, LVT (luxury vinyl tile), artificial
grass and flooring accessories.
Victoria has operations in the UK, Spain,
Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia
and employs approximately 3,400 people
across more than 20 sites. Victoria is
the UK's largest carpet manufacturer and
the second largest in Australia, as well
as the largest manufacturer of underlay
in both regions.
The Group's strategy is designed to create
value for its shareholders and is focused
on consistently increasing earnings and
cash flow per share via acquisitions and
sustainable organic growth. (Further information
about Victoria can be found on its website,
www.victoriaplc.com.)
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