Van Elle Holdings PLC Trading Update & Notice of Results (8993S)

TIDMVANL

RNS Number : 8993S

Van Elle Holdings PLC

19 November 2021

Van Elle Holdings plc

('Van Elle', the 'Company' or the 'Group')

Trading Update

& Notice of Results

Van Elle Holdings plc (AIM: VANL), the UK's largest ground engineering contractor, today provides a trading update for the six months ended 31 October 2021 (the 'Period') ahead of announcing its half-year results, which are expected to be released on Monday 31 January 2022.

Strong activity levels have continued in most divisions, leading to significantly increased revenues of approximately GBP60m in the Period. This represents a 56% increase over the prior year comparative period (HY21: GBP38.3m) as well as a return to growth over pre-Covid comparative revenues, with run rates exiting the Period showing good capacity usage across all divisions. As expected, recovery in Rail volumes continued to lag the other segments, with residential construction showing the highest activity levels. Encouragingly, the Rail business has seen an improvement in enquiries and contract activity towards the end of the Period, which is expected to continue in the second half.

The Group has continued to experience the effects of industry-wide supply chain challenges, salary inflation and short-term employee availability. These challenges continue to be mitigated at an operational level. Management is focused on improving its margin mix and remains confident that the strong market recovery and divisional performance will underpin an improved outlook.

Good progress continues to be made in the delivery of strategic actions including work winning activity in the infrastructure and housing sectors which underpin the medium-term financial targets outlined in previous updates.

Cash as at 31 October 2021 was GBP6.3m (30 April 2021: GBP8.5m). The decrease in cash reflects an increase in working capital due to higher activity levels and rig purchases which have been financed from cash reserves. The Group has also further reduced its hire purchase debt during the Period.

The Group's order book at 31 October 2021 was GBP34.5m (9 August 2021: GBP34.7m).

The Board is pleased with the progress delivered in the first half of the year and continues to be confident that FY22 full year performance will be in line with market expectations.

Notice of Results:

Van Elle expects to announce its half-year results on Monday 31 January 2022. A briefing for Analysts will be held at 9.30am on the morning of the results. Analysts interested in attending should contact Walbrook PR on [e-mail] or 020 7933 8780.

For further information, please contact:

 
 Van Elle Holdings plc                       Via Walbrook 
  Mark Cutler, Chief Executive Officer 
  Graeme Campbell, Chief Financial Officer 
 
 Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and        Tel: [phone] 
  corporate broker) 
  Mike Bell / Ed Allsopp 
 
 Walbrook PR Limited                         Tel: [phone] 
                                              or [e-mail] 
 
 Tom Cooper / Nick Rome / Nicholas Johnson   07971 221 972 or 07748 
                                              325 236 or 07884 664 
                                              686 
 

About Van Elle Holdings plc:

Van Elle Holdings is the UK's largest specialist geotechnical engineering contractor. The Company provides a range of ground engineering techniques and services including - ground investigation, general and specialist piling, rail geotechnical engineering, modular foundations, and ground improvement and stabilisation services.

Van Elle operates through three divisions: general piling, specialist piling and ground engineering; and is focused on three end markets: residential and housing, infrastructure and regional construction - across which the Group has completed more than 20,000 projects over the last 35 years.

General piling provides a range of larger piling and ground engineering solutions for open-site construction projects. Specialist piling provides a range of geotechnical solutions in operationally constrained environments including on-track rail applications. Ground engineering services offers a range of ground investigation and geotechnical services and modular foundation solutions such as Smartfoot(R). Van Elle has a market-leading reputation and the UK's largest rig fleet of 115 rigs.

Having floated on AIM in 2016 it now has a strong national presence, diversified offering and market-leading brand name.

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November 19, 2021 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)