Hargreaves Services Share Discussion Threads

[totally banjo] 12/9/2014 15:45

Scottish coal mines deliver £5.8m operating profit on sales of £50.5m
September 12, 2014

Despite winter weather delays, miners at its open-cast Scottish coal mines dug in deep to help owner Hargreaves Services plc to deliver an overall 5.6% increase in profits in the year ending 31 May 2014.

Tim Ross, Chairman of the Durham-based miner, said: “This year was challenging for Hargreaves. In difficult market conditions it is testament to the strength of the Group that we are able to announce a 6% increase in profits.

“Underlying profit before tax from continuing operations increased by 6% to £55.1 million, bringing a positive end to the year for surface mining with excellent production run rates after earlier delays and exceptional weather conditions.”

The Scottish coal operation delivered first year coal revenues of £50.5m during the year and generated an operating profit of £5.8 million. This result reflected the sale of 845,000 tonnes, marketed and sold at just over £5 operating profit per tonne, as expected, and also benefitted from some restoration activity during the year and the sale of surplus mining assets.

Ross added: “We are also pleased to be contributing to significant environmental restoration efforts at a number of key sites. Whilst this does not by any means deal with the significant restoration liability left behind by ATH and SRG, we are actively providing restoration at a number of sites.

“We have already delivered significant improvement at sites such as Glenmuckloch in Dumfries and Galloway and Muir Dean in Fife. At these sites we have utilised world class heavy plant and equipment and expertise to deliver on our contractual commitments. Restoration services have been provided on time and to the highest standards. Our specialised heavy duty equipment is providing the maximum possible impact for the money available.

“Even at sites where there is minimal or no restoration funding available, such as Duncanziemere, Netherton and House of Water, we are working to extract remaining reserves of coal whilst providing the greatest possible improvement to site conditions and environmental impact.”

Hargreaves said that indigenous coal will continue to be ‘an important fuel for UK power generation’ and that, therefore the surface mining pipeline is a core strategic asset and store of long term value for the Group. The strength of Hargreaves’ position in surface mining leaves it uniquely placed to capitalise on any future upturn in coal prices and coal fired power generation.

Whilst Scotland contributed significantly to the Division’s result during the year, underlying operating profit for the division remained at £16.7m reflecting reduced profits at Monckton.

The table below shows the current mining reserves for the Hargreaves Group.

(see link below for table)

[totally banjo] 12/9/2014 15:28

General interest:



About Project

Designs Creative have the pleasure of design and branding up the latest Large scale exhibition stands for Hargreaves Services. Large format production of these three 6 metre long display delivered over a short time scale. A rewarding project.

Published: September 12, 2014

[totally banjo] 12/9/2014 09:20

A reminder:

Our Company

Overview


Established in 1994 as a specialist bulk haulier, the Hargreaves Group has grown, both organically and via acquisition, into a major force in the supply, movement and management of mineral resources and the provision of support services to the energy and waste industries.

The Hargreaves Group is a fully integrated business; we source, produce, process, handle and transport a wide range of bulk materials to meet the increasingly demanding needs of today’s industry.

Hargreaves has a resource base stretching across three continents, a fleet of over 400 vehicles (plus dedicated sub-contract vehicles) based at depots throughout the UK and a support services team capable of managing the largest energy and waste related projects.

The Group’s activities are managed through four divisions: Production, Energy & Commodities, Transport and Industrial Services.

At Hargreaves, we combine our assets and our competencies to provide our blue-chip customers with high-quality integrated solutions. Our flexibility and integration makes for strong and mutually-beneficial relationships, and our customers understand the benefits to them of the Hargreaves approach; after all, it’s what sets us apart from our competitors.

Hargreaves Services plc: Moving mountains… every day.

[bamboo2] 12/9/2014 09:11

I agree bench2. I have had this on my watch list for two years, but have never had the confidence to buy. The main co product is going to continue to suffer falling demand and falling prices.

The chart, on a longer timescale, looks like a giant head and shoulders with a target of around 200. It however, could take a considerable time to get there.

[bench2] 11/9/2014 14:30

I wish I could share your optimism banjo .

[totally banjo] 11/9/2014 12:54

bench2,no problem and should recover well from these levels over the next few months......even for a "a pity it is trapped in a slowly dying business" type company,as you so eloquently typed.

[bench2] 11/9/2014 12:26

Thanks for the Tom Austen piece Banjo . Hargreaves is a well managed and respected employer with high standards , a pity it is trapped in a slowly dying business.

[totally banjo] 11/9/2014 10:49

News: Hargreaves pleased with progress in closing Maltby
Thursday, September 11, 2014
By Tom Austen

Hargreaves Services plc, the UK's leading supplier of solid fuels, has reported that the mine shafts have been filled and capped as part of the overall restoration programme at Maltby Colliery in Rotherham.

The 500 acre colliery was mined for over 100 years until geological conditions could not be overcome and underground operations ceased in 2013. It had around 500 staff.

Owners and operators, Hargreaves decided to mothball the mine following no viable alternative solution being found to geological reports that indicated that the risks associated with mining a new panel, called T125, had not significantly reduced and that the panel is not viable on health and safety, geological, and financial grounds.

In its latest financial results, Hargreaves said that the closure programme continues in line with plan and that the mine shafts have been filled and capped as part of Maltby's overall restoration programme and that it just waiting on formal certification of this completion.

Maltby's No 3 Winding Tower met with an explosive end in July as a number of disused and redundant colliery buildings were demolished.

In a statement, the board of Hargreaves said that it "is very pleased with the progress that has been made in closing the Maltby operation and thanks all the staff and other stakeholders involved. The project has been completed on time, on budget and to a high quality."

A number of Maltby miners successfully transferred across to Hatfield Colliery near Doncaster, which Hargreaves previously managed on behalf of its owners. A large number of skilled workers were recruited to the group's contracting arm, Hargreaves Technical Resources.

Hargreaves added that it is working hard with local authorities to "optimise the value of land to the Group and to the local community."

The immediate future of the site is as Maltby Energy Park, with operator Alkane Energy generating energy from the coal mine methane assets for an estimated period of up to 15 years.

Alkane Energy paid £7.5m to buy coal mine methane (CMM) assets at Maltby from Hargreaves Services last year. £2m will be paid to acquire additional site infrastructure assets six months after the mine shafts are satisfactorily sealed as part of the planned closure of Maltby Colliery. This is expected to occur by October 2014.

Now operating at full production, some 115 million cubic metres of pure methane will be extracted from the mine void and the coal left underground.

Alkane said in its latest financial results that current output from Maltby is ahead of expectations and that they expect production in the second half to compensate for the delayed shaft sealing operations.

Rothbiz reported last month that Alkane had completed a multimillion pound deal with Egdon Resources, a leading player in shale gas exploration, for the interest in the current licence to explore for the controversial energy source in Rotherham.

[bench2] 09/9/2014 16:46

Yes the coal price bears have the upper hand , particularly with weaker oil prices
keeping downward pressure on all carbon based fuels .

[simon gordon] 09/9/2014 15:36

FT reporting that a decision on Monckton will be taken January 2015.

Cheap Chinese imports are hurting them.

[bench2] 09/9/2014 15:03

Wow , it did sell off to touch 615p , I should not have spent so long at lunch

[bench2] 09/9/2014 12:59

Div up 24% to 25.5p but still covered 4.7 x by EPS . A good sign of confidence but the anti coal brigade and green renewables lobby is very strong so most will view this as a business to avoid . Personally with imported gas coming from 2 very dodgy suppliers ( Qatar and Russia )nuclear in decline, and a growing economy and population I cannot see solar and wind as being reliable in a cold winter , so the Nat Grid will turn to moth balled coal fired stations when the lights start to go out . Given the huge anti coal , this is a dying business debate , I suspect this will trade lower ex div but at 600p the yield will be 4.25% and a prospective PER of 6 on the 100p broker forecast . Of interest to contrarian value buyers in an ISA , but the value trap bloggers hold sway for now

[boystown] 09/9/2014 07:16

Very strong results, easily worth a tenner - off back to bed.

[simon gordon] 05/9/2014 10:56

Shares Mag:

Shock as Hargreaves’ tankers hauled off

We are surprised by Hargreaves Services’ (HSP:AIM) decision to sell its haulage business Imperial Tankers as this provided a welcome contribution to group profits at a time when the wider business is struggling with falling coal prices.

Although the £26.9 million disposal price is attractive, it is only a short-term win. The remaining coal mining and trading operations are clouded by numerous market uncertainties, so stay clear of the stock as we see much further downside to the share price at 690p.

The outlook for the coal price remains very poor. Hargreaves’ coking operations at Monckton require high levels of working capital and the £227 million cap is looking to see if it can secure enough contractual certainty to justify keeping that business going.

Hargreaves raised money in April 2013 to revitalise open pit coal mines in Scotland but the coal price has since fallen by 16% to £46 per tonne. It can rework mine plans to cope with this pricing but that would reduce output levels.

Investment bank Jefferies has slashed its earnings per share forecasts by 31% to 100p for the financial year to September 2015 on the poor near-term outlook.

Longer-term, Hargreaves hopes to boost its industrial services arm.

[deanowls] 04/9/2014 15:35

Brilliant don, get back to being the tea boy will you.

[don342] 04/9/2014 12:49

Simon Cawkwell brief comment on Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) - Spread Betting Magazine September edition page 19

[meijiman] 04/9/2014 09:34

Indeed. There was a company called Coalite which made massive profits from its smokeless fuels produced from Bolsover. The profits were heavily biased to the winter. They always had a heap of cash on the balance sheet.They had two grades -one called Coalite and a premiun brand whose name escapes me.(Sunbrite?)
I wonder if HSP has been keeping some powder dry for the prelims on the 9th? Certainly they might have scope on the dividend -though the share price plunge rather takes care of the yield short term.
I should have seen this coming -everything to do with coal is not good. We know about fracking in the USA but the likes of New World in central Europe have been having a torrid time.

[castleford tiger] 04/9/2014 07:20

Traditional House Coal 10kg £195 per tonne £1.95 per bag
Traditional House Coal 20kg £187 per tonne £3.74 per bag

Brazier Smokeless 10kg £285 per tonne £2.85 per bag
Brazier Smokeless 20kg £280 per tonne £5.60 per bag

These are full 26 ton loads delivered to wholesalers.

Someone somewhere is making serious money if coal is 46 a ton on the surface.

Tiger

[gargoyle2] 02/9/2014 14:10

Shareholders to benefit from Hargreaves’ simplification strategy


Coal miner Hargreaves Services (HASE) has taken its first step towards simplifying the group which Jefferies said would maximise shareholder value.

Jefferies analyst Justin Jordan retained a ‘buy’ recommendation but lowered the target price from £10.30 to 900p following the £28.1 million disposal of its non-core Imperial Tanker business. Shares tumbled 9.6% to 715.5p yesterday on the news.

Jordan said it was the ‘first step of [a] strategy to simplify [the] group, with increased focus on risk-adjusted return and maximising cash returns’.

‘While current depressed global coal prices and uncertain UK demand outlook leads to 31% full year 2015 downgrades to 100p earnings per share, ahead of 9 September full year 2014 results, we welcome focus on maximising shareholder value,’ he said.

[gargoyle2] 01/9/2014 20:50

Not a good day here today. Clearly a lot of uncertainty in the business going forward, although I'm not sure that there was much in today's RNS (in terms of 'bad news') that wasn't already known. I was obviously wrong to think that it was all priced in already. On the positive side, today's sale price does appear to have been a very good deal for HSP, and at least the management (which I do consider to be experienced and competent) recognizes the problems and does seem to have a plan. I'll continue to hold here for the moment. Will be interesting to see what SCSW has to say -- next edition in about 10 days, I think.

[simon gordon] 01/9/2014 10:30

Market has been right to give HSP a low rating. Story just looks a value trap. Are they flogging Imperial to get some cash in the door now that coal prices have fallen? There is the lurking shadow of Monckton.

Share price looks like it will remain a zombie with more downside risk than upside.

[davebowler] 01/9/2014 10:22

It seems Hargreaves got a very good price for their disposal;

hxxp://www.insidermedia.com/insider/north-west/122374-double-acquisition-suttons?utm_source=liverpool_newsletter&utm_medium=deals_article&utm_campaign=liverpool_news_tracker

[sicknote_boy] 01/9/2014 08:55

Lot of uncertainty in that update.

I wouldn't be a buyer at these levels. Not until after results anyway.