Henry Boot Regulatory News (BOOT)

17 May 2007 12:22

Boot(Henry) PLC17 May 2007 Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd on behalf of Henry Boot PLCDate: Thursday 17 May 2007 Immediate Release HENRY BOOT PLC Annual General Meeting and Trading Update Extraordinary General Meeting and Bonus Issue At the Annual General Meeting of Henry Boot PLC held today, Thursday 17 May 2007, John Reis, Chairman, addressed Shareholders and said: "My statement on the Group's 2006 results and its prospects was set out in the2006 Preliminary Statement of Results announced on 21 March 2007. As Iindicated, the Group remains very well positioned to continue to capitalise onits broadly based portfolio of assets and opportunities. "I would, however, like to update Shareholders on current trading. "I am pleased to report that the Group has made a good start to the year andtrading in the first four months of the financial year has been in-line withmanagement expectations. "Profitability for the year as a whole will, as last year, be somewhat biasedtowards the second half year, with key land transactions and propertydevelopment completions forecast to take place towards the end of the financialyear. As Shareholders will be aware, the precise timing of any transactioncompletion is always difficult to predict and, therefore, it is our intention,as we clarify their timing, to provide further updates to Shareholders and themarket as appropriate. "I would like to take this opportunity also to highlight a selection of keyachievements by the Group during the last four months, in particular: •At Henry Boot Developments a detailed planning application has been submitted for a 150,000 sq.ft mixed-use scheme in Grimsby, which will include retail units, a water sports centre, 25 apartments and a 290 space car park. Also, the first 60 acres have been purchased as part of the phased development of the 200-acre business park at Markham Vale, Derbyshire and we expect building work to commence later in the year. •At Hallam Land Management: planning applications have been submitted for a number of projects across the Country including: - a five-megawatt wind farm in County Durham; - the first phase of development in Worcester for 187 dwellings; - 316 dwellings at Rushpool Farm, Mansfield; - a 32-acre option secured on land south of Derby close to another larger optioned site that we are currently promoting for residential development. •At Henry Boot Construction: the £8 million contract to build a combined garden centre and retail complex for Dobbies Garden Centres, just south of Sheffield, is progressing well and, as part of its work for the Decent Homes Initiative, a £5.5 million refurbishment programme covering two, multi-storey residential tower blocks in Hull has commenced. I look forward to reporting further on our progress at the time of the Group'sInterim results, scheduled to be announced at the end of August." Annual General MeetingAll Resolutions put to the Meeting were duly passed by Shareholders. Extraordinary General Meeting and Bonus IssueAt an Extraordinary General Meeting held following the Annual General Meeting,Shareholders approved the Bonus Issue of 4 Ordinary Shares for every 1 OrdinaryShare currently held. The new Bonus Shares will rank pari-passu with theexisting Ordinary Shares, with the exception that they will not qualify for the2006 final dividend of 16.6 pence, approved by Shareholders at the AnnualGeneral Meeting, which will be paid on 24 May 2007. It is expected that the new Bonus Shares will be admitted to the Official Listand dealings will commence on Monday 21 May 2007. Details of all the Resolutions can be found in the Notices of the AGM and EGMwhich have previously been submitted to the UK Listing Authority for inspectionat its Document Viewing Facility. For further information, please contact:Henry Boot PLCJamie Boot, Group Managing DirectorJohn Sutcliffe, Group Finance DirectorTel: 0114 255 5444www.henryboot.co.uk Evolution Securities Limited Joanne LakeTel: 0113 243 1619 Citigate Dewe Rogerson Fiona TooleyTel: 07785 703523 or 0121 455 8370 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange