(Alliance News) - Arena Events Group PLC on Tuesday said its loss widened dramatically in the first half of 2019, hit by higher administrative expenses, with some approaching contract delivery costs prompting it to cut its interim dividend in half.
Arena also announced that Chief Financial Officer Piers Wilson will step down after a month-long transition. New CFO Steve Towbridge had been CFO of Evans Cycles and then chief executive upon the company's sale to Sports Direct International PLC. Previously, Towbridge worked for HSS Hire Group PLC and Thomson Reuters.
Shares in Arena - which provides temporary physical structures, seating, ice rinks, furniture and interiors - were down 26% at 20.50 pence in London in morning trade.
Arena reported a GBP2.2 million pretax loss for the six months ended June 30, widened from a GBP200,000 loss the year before. This was largely the result of administrative expenses, which rose 26% to GBP20.6 million from GBP16.4 million. Arena Events said the jump in expenses was due to additional overheads from acquired businesses. On a like-for-like basis, administrative expenses rose by 5%.
More positively, revenue increased 28% to GBP70.1 million from GBP54.9 million year-on-year.
The firm will pay a 0.25 pence per share interim dividend, half its 0.5p per share dividend the year before. This reduction was based on "the significant capex spend required to facilitate the delivery of possibly the largest Ryder Cup ever in Wisconsin, the return of a full US Open, and the Tokyo Olympics".
Arena has moved its year-end date to March, and so its current financial year will have 15 months and run through to March 2020.
Chief Executive Greg Lawless said: "The group's results have historically been second-half weighted, and the profile for 2019 will be further exaggerated following last year's acquisitions and a higher proportion of secured and identified jobs now phasing into the last quarter of the year. This is why we are changing our year end to March, effective for the 15 months to March 2020.
"The board remains confident that the group's strategy will deliver long term shareholder value as we continue to focus on reaping the full benefit of last year's acquisitions as well as continuing to improve operational efficiency across the group."
The firm is also undertaking a restructure, with Lawless commenting: "The restructuring of the UK Structures unit continues to be a priority and in March we appointed a new CEO, Chris Morris to lead the division. Whilst, we have made some progress here, there is more work to be done, and we are confident the restructuring will be completed by the end of 2019."
