Cropper (J) Regulatory News (CRPR)

The advanced materials and paper products group, is pleased to announce its

Half year results to 26 September 2020

* excludes the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items (per note 9)

Highlights

· The key priority remains the safety and wellbeing of employees

· Rapid response to Covid 19 to reduce costs, optimise cash flow and protect liquidity

· Group revenues down 36% on prior year mainly within the Paper division

· Colourform revenues up 17% on prior year

· The downturn in TFP sales, particularly in the aerospace sector mitigated by growth in medical and renewable energy sectors

· Restructuring costs nearing completion with a net cost of £0.2m projected for the year and £2m savings pa thereafter.

· Company has liquidity of over £14m including cash and available overdraft facilities.

· Capital investments for future growth to restart in the second half

· To protect liquidity, no interim dividend declared.

Mark Cropper, Chairman, commented:

"Our immediate key priority is to maintain the safety and wellbeing of our employees and customers. Each division is seeing signs of recovery with most markets trending back to normality. The restructuring plans are nearing completion with a small net cost anticipated for the year but anticipated savings of £2m p.a. in future years. The restructuring has affected less than 10% of the workforce but will result in a leaner, stronger Group. Capital investment was suspended during the first half of the year and is planned to resume in the second half."

"The Group has weathered a major challenge during the period. The actions of our employees to meet and overcome the challenge has been exceptional across the Group. I am proud of their actions and commitment as ever and would like to thank them all for their continued efforts to protect themselves, their fellow employees and the business as we plan to come out of this pandemic a stronger, fitter Group and continue our plans for growth."

Enquiries:

* excludes the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items (per note 9)

* excludes the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items (per note 9)

Dear Shareholders

The last six months have been a challenging period for the Group, particularly for our employees, customers, suppliers, local communities and shareholders. The impact of the pandemic has been significant, but due to the actions taken at the onset, the Group remains in a strong position.

The Group responded quickly to the challenges. Throughout the crisis we have managed our response under three headings: the health and wellbeing of our employees, supporting customers and reducing costs. The overall objective has been to emerge from the pandemic a stronger Group. The commitment, support and engagement of our employees in such an adverse time has been truly remarkable: everyone has excelled in protecting the business and each other. Immediate actions included working from home where possible whilst continuing to support our customer needs and cutting non-essential expenditure to reduce costs. Employee safety was a primary focus with enhanced safety measures introduced to provide a Covid-19 secure environment in line with government and NHS guidelines.

The Group took swift action to reduce costs and protect liquidity. This included the deferral of all discretionary spending, suspension of major capital expenditure, suspension of dividend payments, and seeking support from local authorities, government agencies and the banks. During the period, our customers, particularly in the Paper division were globally impacted by Covid-19, leading to reduced demand and periods of inefficient or no production. This resulted in many employees being placed on furlough. In addition, payment of the bonuses earned from our record results last year have been deferred until the second half of the year. No bonuses or annual incremental pay increases will be implemented in the current year.

The Group has weathered the initial impact of the pandemic. All divisions in the business have been impacted to varying degrees with Paper affected the most, TFP more resilient and Colourform continuing to grow. Markets are improving but it is too early to say whether the Group may be affected by further lockdowns. With this in mind, the Group has prepared projections and continues to protect liquidity. With this backdrop the Board has decided not to declare an interim dividend.

As reported in our trading update at the AGM, the Group has been developing restructuring plans for some time in order to drive growth and competitiveness. The impact of the pandemic has required us to accelerate the implementation of these plans, which affect our Paper and Group operations divisions. Most of the restructuring has now been completed and has impacted less than 10% of our employees.

Financial Performance

Revenue in the period was 36% lower than the prior comparative period at £34.0m (2019: £52.8m). Operating profit in the period was 86% lower than the prior period at £0.4m (2019: £2.6m). Provisions for exceptional costs relating to the restructuring plans are expected to be £1m. The net impact to the Group for the year is expected to be (£0.2m) with savings in future years of £2m p.a.

Statutory operating profit for the period was £0.4m after exceptional items for the restructuring costs and grant income from governmental authorities in the UK and USA. This compares to the prior year comparative of £2.6m. The Group had a loss before taxation of £16,000 compared to a profit of £2.0m in the prior year comparative period.

The business is in an 18-24 month recovery period. The Company has experienced a trading hit in the first half of 2020-2021 and expects cash generated to be down during the period of the pandemic until we return to more normal trading conditions. We have acted promptly to conserve cash and to implement immediate savings to shore up reserves, in order to continue to protect cash flows and liquidity, the Board has not declared an interim dividend. The Company presently has liquidity of over £14 million including cash and available overdraft facilities thanks to the cash management actions implemented. This is expected to be sufficient to weather further lockdowns, the return to more normal trading conditions and a re-instatement of investment plans to support future growth. Since the period end a £4m CLBIL has been secured which brings additional cash security should it be required as we face continued uncertainty due to Covid-19.

James Cropper Paper ("Paper")

The Paper division has been adversely impacted by Covid-19 with revenues down by 45% compared to the comparable period last year, as a result of global lockdowns affecting demand for luxury packaging, education and event collateral. Whilst the division did not have to close completely at any time, a large number of employees were placed on furlough for some time over the period. The Group decided to accelerate restructuring plans during the period, the implementation of which is nearing completion. Whilst there is expected to be a small net cost during the current year, the restructuring will generate significant annual savings. Towards the end of the period positive signs of normality were experienced as markets opened up following the easing of lockdown rules globally.

Colourform™ ("Colourform")  

Revenues in the Colourform division grew by 17% in the period; however the rate of growth was impacted by Covid-19. In the period, the division's leadership and growth plans were boosted by the appointment of Patrick Willink as Managing Director. Colourform has reduced production for short periods and placed some employees on furlough during the period.

Technical Fibre Products ("TFP")

Revenues in the TFP division were down by 14% mainly from reduced demand within the aerospace market as a direct result of Covid-19. The drop in the aerospace sector was mitigated by good growth in the medical and green energy sectors, such as hydrogen fuel cells and wind. The division has utilised the furlough scheme for short periods.

Pension

The IAS19 valuations, for the two defined benefit schemes as at 26 September 2020, revealed a combined deficit of £18.3m, compared with £9.4m as at 28 March 2020. This change was driven primarily by a large fall in corporate bond yields and a rise in inflation expectations. After deferred taxation the net deficit stands at £14.8m.

Earnings per share and dividend

Basic and fully diluted earnings per share decreased to (0.2) pence, compared to 17.0 pence in the prior year comparative period.

In order to continue to protect cash flows and liquidity, the Board has not declared an interim dividend.

Outlook

Our immediate key priority is to maintain the safety and wellbeing of our employees and customers. Each division is seeing signs of recovery with sectors moving towards normality. The restructuring plans are nearing completion with a small net cost anticipated for the year but anticipated savings of £2m pa in future years. The restructuring has affected less than 10% of the workforce but will result in a leaner, stronger Group. Capital investment was suspended during the first half of the year and is planned to resume in the second half.

The Group has weathered a major challenge during the period. The actions of our employees to meet and overcome the challenge has been exceptional across the Group. I am proud of their actions and commitment as ever and would like to thank them all for their continued efforts to protect themselves, their fellow employees and the business as we plan to come out of this pandemic a stronger, fitter Group and continue our plans for growth.

Mark Cropper

Chairman

UN-AUDITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

 UN-AUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

UN-AUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

UN-AUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED HALF YEAR STATEMENTS

1 BASIS OF PREPARATION

James Cropper Plc (the Company) is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom and listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The condensed consolidated half year financial statements of the Company for the twenty six weeks ended 26 September 2020, which have not been audited or reviewed, comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the Group).

Basis of preparation

The condensed consolidated financial statements for the 26 week periods ending 26 September 2020 and 28 September 2019 are unaudited and were approved by the Directors on 9 November 2020. They do not constitute statutory accounts as defined in s434 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements for the year ended 28 March 2020 were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditor on those financial statements was unqualified and did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis of matter. The Group's financial statements consolidate the financial statements of James cropper Plc and its subsidiaries.

Applicable standards

These unaudited consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, under the historical cost convention. They have not been prepared in accordance with IAs 34, the application of which is not required to the interim financial statements of companies trading on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM companies). The interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies applied in the preparation of the Group's published consolidated financial statements for the 52 week period ended 28 March 2020.

The consolidated financial statements of the Group for the 52 week period ended 28 March 2020 are available upon request from the Company's registered office Burneside Mills, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 6PZ or at www.jamescropper.com.

The half year financial information is presented in Sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds (£'000) except where otherwise indicated.

Going concern

The Directors, at the time of approving these interim statements, have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least 12 months from this reporting date.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent uncertainty, the Group has undertaken a detailed review and taken appropriate mitigating actions to protect the business and liquidity.

A robust assessment modelling the most severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was carried out in April 2020 and the Company is trading significantly ahead of the most severe forecasts at both sales and profit level. The Group's quick response to Covid-19 has provided financial resilience during this particularly challenging period. Nonetheless the potential of demand decline resulting from Covid-19 establishes an ongoing risk to future financial performance. For the interim going concern review the Group has a base case forecast for the next 30 months to assess the latest position and potential associated ongoing impacts of Covid-19. A number of scenarios assess headroom against facilities and impacts on bank covenants, which showed adequate headroom and no covenant breaches. No revolving credit facilities are due for renewal within the next 12 months. On 27 October 2020, the Company secured a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan ("CLBIL") for a three year duration under which the Group can draw up to £4m. The interim going concern review assumes that this facility remains undrawn.

Following this review the Directors are satisfied that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the condensed consolidated financial statements.

Significant accounting policies

The accounting policies applied by the Group in these condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those applied by the Group in its consolidated financial statements as at and for the 52 week period ended 28 March 2020.

During the period, some employees across the Group were placed on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ("JRS"). In addition, in the USA, the subsidiaries of Technical Fibre Products took part in the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP"). Income from the JRS Scheme and the PPP program of £2.8m has been recognised in the six months ended 26 September 2020. The grants have been recognised as income and matched with associated payroll costs over the same period. These grants have been treated as exceptional in the financial statements for the period ended 28 September 2020. This income has been treated as exceptional in the exceptional items note 8.

2 Accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of half year financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The significant judgements made by management in applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty were the same as those applied to the consolidated financial statements as at and for the 52 week period ended 28 March 2020.

As mentioned in the trading update announcement at the AGM, the Group has accelerated the implementation of a restructuring plan. The plan is still ongoing with costs to date of £495,000. Included in the financial statements for the period ended 26 September 2020 are additional provisions for completion of the plan amounting to a further £562,000. The net impact at the year ended 26 March 2020 is expected to be around £183,000 and generate an annual saving of circa £2m per year. The costs to date and provisions to completion have been recognised in the employee benefits figure of the income statement. The costs have been treated as exceptional and included in the exceptional items note 8.

3 Risks and uncertainties

The principal risks and uncertainties which may have the largest impact on performance in the second half of the year are the same as disclosed in the 2020 Annual Report on pages 21-25. The principal risks set out in the 2020 Annual Report were:

Covid-19 pandemic risk; employee health & safety; energy price volatility; pulp price volatility and sustainability; exchange rate volatility; Brexit; pension and information security and cyber risk.

The Board considers that the principal risks and uncertainties set out in the 2020 annual report have not changed and remain relevant for the second half of the financial year.

4 Alternative performance measures

The Company uses alternative performance measures to allow users of the financial statements to gain a clearer understanding of the underlying performance of the business.

Profit before tax represents the Group's overall performance and financial position, however it contains significant non-operational items relating to IAS 19 that the directors believe obscure an understanding of the key performance trend.

Measures used to evaluate business performance are 'Adjusted operating profit' (operating profit excluding the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items), and 'Adjusted profit before tax' (profit before tax excluding the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items). The alternative performance measures are reconciled in note 9.

The adjustment, which we refer to in these accounts as the "IAS 19 impact" represents the difference between the pension charge as calculated under IAS 19 and the cash contributions for the current service cost only as determined by the latest triennial valuation. The Directors consider that the adjusted pension charge better reflects the actual pension costs for ongoing service compared to the IAS 19 charge. This adjustment is made internally when we assess performance and is also used in the EBITDA and EPS targets used in management incentive schemes.

5 Earnings per share

6 Dividends

The group has weathered the initial storm of Covid-19. The Group operates in diverse sectors and in wide geographical markets, so whilst certain parts of the business have been impacted by Covid-19, other parts of the business have demonstrated greater resilience.

With this balance, and the likelihood of a slower recovery, the Board has not declared an interim dividend as it continues to protect the liquidity of the Group.

7 Retirement benefit obligations

Movements during the period in the Group's defined benefit pension schemes are set out below:

8 Exceptional items

9 Alternative performance measures

10 Related parties

There have been no significant changes in the nature of related party transactions in the period ended 26 September 2020 from that disclosed in the 2020 annual report.

Statement of Directors' responsibilities

The Directors confirm that these condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the European Union and that the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7 and DTR 4.2.8, namely:

(i) An indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements, and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year; and

(ii) Material related party transactions in the first six months and any material changes in the related party transactions described in the last Annual report.

During the period since approval of the annual report for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2020, Dave Watson resigned as a director on 1 August 2020.

The Directors of James Cropper Plc are detailed on our Group website www.jamescropper.com

Forward-looking statements

Sections of this half-yearly financial report may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the Group's plans and expectations relating to its future performance, results, strategic initiatives, objectives and financial position, including liquidity and capital resources. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. By their very nature, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events that may or may not occur in the future and are or may be beyond the Group's control. Accordingly, the Group's actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this half-yearly financial report are current only as of the date on which such statements are made. The Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, save in respect of any requirement under applicable law or regulation. Nothing in this announcement shall be construed as a profit forecast.