AUG.L Regulatory News (AUG)

30 Jun 2005 08:00

Augean Plc30 June 2005 30th June 2005 Augean plc Pre-close Trading Update Our half year results to 30 June, 2005 are due to be announced in September butahead of those we are keen to keep shareholders informed of progress. Good progress has been made during the first six months and the two acquisitionsmade late last year, Atlantic and Zero are successfully integrated. The resultswill show that these two businesses are both profitable and cash generative andwe expect operating profits for the first half to be in the order of £2 million.Prices have slightly exceeded our expectations; however, we have beendisappointed by the volume of construction related wastes finding their way intothe hazardous waste sites. At the time of our fundraising we mentioned the importance of having twomonocells available at our Thornhaugh site. These are effectively ringfencedcells within a site that can accept particular types of waste and were budgetedto be an important profit source for us. These were due to be commissioned inJune and they have been constructed and were ready well ahead of this timescale.Because so much is happening within the hazardous waste sector, the EnvironmentAgency has informed us that the Agency will be unable to issue the Permit tooperate these sites in the timeframe previously agreed. Whilst confident ofobtaining the permit, we have been unable to obtain a firm date as to when wewill be allowed to take waste into these monocells. Accordingly your directors feel it is prudent to scale back trading expectationsfor the full year although we wish to stress that this is a timing issue and nota loss of business. Many changes have taken place and continue to take place within the hazardouswaste sector; these are all beneficial to Augean. The issue of the monocellswill be resolved at some point this year and the indications are that as aresult of greatly increased enquiry levels, volumes for construction relatedwastes will also improve. Other parts of the business are performing very well and are profitable. Ourasset base, cash generation and available bank facilities will enable us to makeselective acquisitions in line with our stated strategy. Your directors expectthat, as a result of the timing issues, revenues in the second half will bebelow those originally budgeted but will be substantially above those achievedin the first half of the year. We appreciate the interest and support shown in our company and we will continueto keep investors informed of developments. - Ends - For further information, please contact: David Williams, Chairman, Augean plc 020 7248 0802Jonathon Brill/Billy Clegg/Caroline Stewart, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange