Hill & Smith Regulatory News (HILS)

30 Jun 2009 07:00



30th June 2009

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC

Disposal of Investment in Neholl BV and Pre-Close Update

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC, the international group with leading positions in the supply of infrastructure products and galvanizing services to global markets, today announces the disposal of its minority investment in Neholl BV, a Netherlands-based holding company with galvanizing operations across the Benelux region, for a cash consideration of €5.8m. The minority investment was classified as an Available for Sale Financial Asset at 31 December 2008 and no income was included in the Income Statement in 2008. The disposal will result in a profit on disposal of c. €1.1m. The proceeds will be used to reduce the Group's net debt.

Hill & Smith's interim results will be announced on Monday 17 August 2009. Overall, trading in the period has been in line with the Board's expectations. Notably, a reduction in net debt of more than £30m has been achieved since December 2008, through cash generated from operations, tight working capital management, exchange rate movements and the proceeds from the disposal reported above. We therefore anticipate net debt being below £115m at 30 June 2009 compared to a level of £146.2m at 31 December 2008.

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