Interim Management Statement
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Helphire Group plc16 November 2009Helphire Group plc ('Helphire' or the 'Group')Interim Management StatementHelphire Group plc is today issuing its Interim Management Statementin respect of the period from 1 July to 16 November 2009. Unlessotherwise stated, the financial and operational data, whereidentified, relates to the four month period ended 31 October 2009,being the first four months of the financial year ending 30 June2010.Financial PerformanceTrading updateAs previously advised and as a result of our focus on sustainable andprofitable business, case volumes and hire length in 2009 areexpected to run significantly below 2008. In the four month period to31 October, case volumes of 51,077 were 22.5% below the comparableperiod in 2008 and hire days of 1,012,288 were 29.9% below the sameperiod reflecting the additional impact of the weaker hire lengthpreviously reported. These lower volumes were in line withmanagement's expectations. However, we are pleased to report thathire length in the four months to 31 October has stabilised with anincrease of 0.8 of a day versus June 2009, reversing the trend seenin the six month period to June.Fleet revenue-generating utilisation has averaged 84.3% across theperiod to 31 October versus 71.6% in the prior year comparableperiod, reflecting the right-sizing of the fleet against management'sexpected volume requirements. The 4,000 unit excess fleet disposalprogramme identified in the first quarter of this calendar year wascompleted through 31 October. Approximately 4,600 units excess torequirements remain on a long-term corporate rental contract untilcalendar year 2010 during which period they will be returned fordisposal.Group overheads continue to reduce under the previously announcedrestructuring programme and the four month period to 31 October 2009saw a reduction of £10.5m versus the comparable prior year period(annualised impact £31.5m).The restructuring programme which is continuing has seen 900employees leave the Group either on voluntary or compulsoryredundancy arrangements in the calendar year through 31 October. Inline with our restructuring plans, the Group's employee base isexpected to reduce by a further 350 positions in the balance of thisfinancial year.The Group continues to focus on cash collection, and ABI hire andrepair cash collection in the four months to 31 October ran at 97% ofbillings versus 82% in the comparable period in the prior year.Despite the impact of lower revenues in the four months compared tothe prior year, annualised debtor days were 249 at 31 October versus266 days at the comparable point of the prior year. Open claim casesat 31 October were 94,000, down 22% from the prior year comparablefigure of 120,000 and cases which are in litigation and issued intocourt at 31 October were 10,900, up 127% from the prior yearcomparable figure of 4,800.Management continues to make good progress under the Project Centuryinitiative to reduce Operating Working Capital by £100m through June2010 with a reduction through 31 October of £76.9m, an improvement of£11.0m in the period since 30 June.We have previously announced the cessation of services to the Acromasheld businesses of the AA and Saga. We can now update that, followingfurther discussions, we have agreed a cessation of AA referrals from1 October with the Saga referrals progressively reducing across thesubsequent six months through March 2010. The Group continues toprovide other hire services to the Acromas group.Financial PositionAt 31 October 2009, the Group's total net indebtedness continues toreduce and was £227.9m (30 June 2009: £239.4m).Martin Ward, Group Managing Director, commented:"Good progress continues to be made on the restructuring andturnaround programme. We are seeing the Group cost base reducesubstantially and our competitive positioning strengthen. We are alsoexperiencing a significant number of new business opportunities beingpresented as a result of developments in our market and we arecurrently well placed to pursue these opportunities. ABI cashcollection remains a key focus as we continue to reduce the number ofopen cases and deal with the legacy claims. We plan to make furtherprogress to achieve our desired state, but overall we remainencouraged by the results to date".For further information, contact:Helphire Group plcRichard Rose, Chairman 01225 321134Martin Ward, Group Managing Director 01225321134Ian Wardle, Chief Financial Officer 01225321134Gayatri Barua-Howe, Group CommunicationsManager 01225 321175Cenkos Securities 020 7397 8900Ian SoanesAdrian HargraveCollege Hill 020 7457 2020Roddy WattTony FriendNotes to EditorsAbout Helphire Group plcHelphire Group plc is a market leader in the provision of accidentmanagement assistance to drivers involved in road accidents that werenot their fault. Working with the UK's top insurance companies, itsservices include provision of like for like replacement vehicles,financing of vehicle repairs, legal expenses and the management ofpersonal accident claims---END OF MESSAGE---This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Datum: 16.11.2009 - 08:01 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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