Marlowe PLC Year End Trading Statement and COVID-19 Update (5527M)
May 12 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMMRL
RNS Number : 5527M
Marlowe PLC
12 May 2020
12 May 2020
Marlowe plc
Year End Trading Statement and COVID-19 Update
Marlowe plc ("Marlowe" or the "Group"), the specialist services
group focused on developing companies which assure safety and
regulatory compliance , provides the following trading statement
for the financial year ended 31 March 2020 and update on
COVID-19.
Trading statement for the year ended 31 March 2020
Marlowe continued to make strong progress in the period, with
substantial revenue and profit growth. Revenue for the financial
year grew 44% to approximately GBP185m (2019: GBP128.5m) with
organic growth accelerating to 7% driven by a combination of strong
new business sales, improved customer retention and successes with
the Group's cross-selling strategy. The Board expects Adjusted
EBITDA for the year ended 31 March 2020 (excluding the effects of
the adoption of IFRS 16) to be in line with market expectations and
to demonstrate good margin expansion. Following the divestment of
non-core air quality activities in March, 12-month run-rate
revenues are approximately GBP200m.
The Group's financial position is robust and underlying cash
generation, before acquisition-related investments remained strong
during FY20. Net debt at 31 March 2020 (excluding the effects of
the adoption of IFRS 16) was GBP32.4m, in line with market
expectations.
The Group completed eight acquisitions in the year, deepening
its presence in existing markets and broadening our safety and
compliance capabilities into both HR and employment law compliance
and occupational health. The integration of Clearwater, acquired in
May 2019, made strong progress during the year, with synergies
delivered in line with plan. The Group's pipeline of
earnings-enhancing acquisition opportunities remains buoyant and we
see increased opportunities to consolidate our markets going
forward.
Marlowe intends to publish its results for the financial year
ended 31 March 2020 during the second half of June.
Update on COVID-19
As stated in our update of 31 March 2020, Covid-19 has resulted
in some impact on our operations where staff were unable to gain
access to certain client sites in order to complete contracted
work. However, given the non-discretionary nature of our services -
and the key worker designation of Marlowe's field staff under UK
Government guidance - we have continued to operate effectively,
whilst implementing enhanced employee safety protocols and taking
cost reduction measures to mitigate the impact on profitability and
optimise cash flow.
Site access issues have begun to improve in recent weeks and,
given the regulations that govern the requirement for our services
and ensure that our clients operate safely and compliantly, we
expect the majority of works deferred by customers to be recovered
in the months ahead. Parts of the Group, including employment law,
HR compliance, occupational health and certain water hygiene
activities, continue to experience an increased demand for
services.
Across the Group Marlowe has tailored its service offering in
response to COVID-19 to support our clients. The Group now provides
Return to Work audits and COVID-19 risk assessments to ensure
workplaces and other premises comply with the latest Government
guidance. In addition, we are delivering COVID-19 surface swab
testing and fever screening technology, people-counting flow
control solutions to facilitate social distancing, and various
COVID-19 focused occupational health and safety services.
Alex Dacre, Chief Executive of Marlowe plc, said:
"We are pleased to have delivered another year of strong
progress which saw accelerating organic growth, significant M&A
and both margin enhancement and strong underlying cash generation.
Whilst we have seen a level of disruption from COVID-19, we expect
the impact to be manageable and believe that our resilient business
model positions us more favourably than most other sectors of the
economy to benefit from a wider recovery in activity once
restrictions are eased. We expect the health, safety and compliance
service sectors that we occupy to remain in sharp focus going
forward and are confident there will be significant growth
opportunities for the Group in the current year.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to
the teams across Marlowe who have worked with such dedication
throughout the past two months, ensuring that we have continued to
deliver our services effectively in order to keep our clients safe,
operational and compliant at all times."
For further information:
Marlowe plc www.marloweplc.com
Alex Dacre, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0) 203 813
8498
Mark Adams, Group Finance Director IR@marloweplc.com
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)
Nicholas Wells Tel: +44 (0)20 7397
8900
Ben Jeynes
Harry Hargreaves
Berenberg (Joint Broker)
Ben Wright Tel: +44 (0)20 3207
7800
Mark Whitmore
FTI Consulting
Nick Hasell Tel: +44 (0)20 3727
1340
Alex Le May
About Marlowe plc
Marlowe is a UK leader in specialist services which assure
safety and regulatory compliance, whilst managing risk for
businesses across the country. The company was formed to create
sustainable shareholder value through the acquisition and
development of businesses that provide regulated inspection,
testing and compliance services. It is focused on health &
safety, employment law compliance, fire safety, security, water
treatment & hygiene, air quality and occupational health
services - all of which are vital to the wellbeing of its customers
operations and are invariably governed by regulation. Marlowe
currently provides services to over 15% of Britain's commercial
premises and is increasingly attractive to customers who require a
single outsourced, nationwide, provider of a comprehensive range of
regulated compliance and safety services. Our customers can be
found in most office complexes, high streets & leisure
facilities, manufacturing plants and industrial estates, and
include SMEs, local authorities, facilities management providers,
multi-site NHS trusts and FTSE 100 companies.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
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Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
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of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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