TIDMSTAF
RNS Number : 6635G
Staffline Group PLC
28 July 2021
28 July 2021
STAFFLINE GROUP PLC
("Staffline", the "Company", or the "Group")
AGM Statement and H1 Trading Update
Staffline, the recruitment and training group, provides the
following trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2021
ahead of its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") at 9.00am today. As
noted in the Company's Notice of AGM announcement, shareholders
will not be able to attend the meeting in person.
H1 Financial Highlights (on a Continuing and Pre-IFRS16
basis)(*)
H1 2021 H1 2020 Change
Revenue GBP450.7m GBP430.3m +4.7%
---------- ----------- ----------
Gross profit GBP39.0m GBP34.2m +14.0%
---------- ----------- ----------
Gross profit % 8.7% 7.9% +0.8%pts
---------- ----------- ----------
Net cash/(debt) GBP20.9m GBP(36.2)m +GBP57.1m
---------- ----------- ----------
(*) The figures are unaudited, provisional and will be published
in mid-September
AGM Statement
At the meeting, Ian Lawson, Non-executive Chairman of Staffline,
will make the following statement:
"Trading has continued to be strong across the first six months
of the year to 30 June 2021 and is ahead of expectations with all
three of Staffline's core divisions delivering a solid performance
in the first half. This, coupled with the benefits of the Group's
cost reduction measures implemented in 2020, in addition to
securing new higher margin business, continues to underpin
Underlying operating profit growth.
Revenue for H1 2021 is expected to be GBP450.7 million (H1 2020:
GBP430.3 million), up 4.7% with Gross Profit expected to be GBP39.0
million (H1 2020: GBP34.2 million), up 14%, a significant
improvement year-on-year and a positive trend in the gross
margin.
The Group is expected to report a net cash position of GBP20.9m
at 30 June 2021 (30 June 2020: net debt GBP(36.2) million). This is
principally due to the net proceeds of the equity raise of GBP44.4m
in June 2021, VAT payment relief of GBP40.7m still to be repaid, c.
GBP15m of timing benefits which are expected to unwind and further
improvements in trading cash flow and cash collection efficiency,
which have generated an additional c.GBP10m. The equity and debt
refinancing have transformed the Company's balance sheet and
repositioned the Group for the medium term.
Recruitment GB performed strongly throughout the first half
across food, logistics and e-commerce, with additional margin gains
arising from new business wins in online food distribution and the
effect of exiting legacy lower margin contracts. This was achieved
despite challenges in the specialist driving division due to the
widely reported acute labour shortages. Recruitment Ireland has
delivered a strong six months, buoyed by good trading in its core
Northern Ireland business alongside tight cost control and
continued growth in the Republic of Ireland. Finally, the Group's
PeoplePlus division also reported an excellent performance from its
core 'employability' division, ensuring the business generated an
Underlying operating profit for the first six months of the year
compared to a loss in the comparable period in 2020.
Overall, the Board and management team are pleased with both the
operational and financial performance for the six months to 30 June
2021. Whilst there remains economic uncertainty as we enter H2 2021
and ongoing headwinds relating to the pandemic, the Group has and
will benefit from the loosening of lockdown restrictions across the
UK and Ireland.
The Board remains confident in Staffline's robust operating
model, and, coupled with the strengthening of its financial
position in the first half of 2021, the Group remains well placed
in the medium term."
Notice of results
The Group expects to report its interim results for the six
months ended 30 June 2021 on 14 September 2021.
Enquiries:
Staffline Group plc via Vigo Consulting
www.stafflinegroupplc.co.uk
Albert Ellis, Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Quint, Chief Financial Officer
Liberum (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
www.liberum.com
Richard Lindley / William Hall / Christopher
Whitaker 020 3100 2222
Vigo Consulting ( Financial PR) 020 7390 0230
www.vigoconsulting.com staffline@vigoconsulting.com
Jeremy Garcia / Antonia Pollock
Market Abuse Regulation:
For the purposes of MAR, Article 2 of Commission Implementing
Regulation (EU) 2016/1055 and the UK version of such implementing
regulation, the person responsible for arranging for the release of
this Announcement on behalf of the Company is Daniel Quint, Chief
Financial Officer.
About Staffline
Providing workforce solutions
Staffline is the UK's market leading Recruitment and Training
group. It has three divisions:
Recruitment GB
Staffline is a leading provider of flexible blue-collar workers,
supplying c.37,000 staff per day on average to around 450 client
sites, across a wide range of industries including agriculture,
supermarkets, drinks, driving, food processing, logistics and
manufacturing.
Recruitment Ireland
The Recruitment Ireland business is a leading end to end
solutions provider operating across twenty industries, ten branch
locations, fifteen onsite customer locations, supplying c.5,000
staff per day on average, and offering RPO, MSP, temporary and
permanent solutions across the island of Ireland.
PeoplePlus Division
PoplePlus is leading skills and employability business with a
clear purpose to help people transform their lives, get jobs and
keep jobs, and develop their careers. We work with employers to
develop workforces of the future, and with central, local and
devolved governments to support their economic and social policy
agendas
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END
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