Hogg Robinson Group Regulatory News (HRG)

1 Aug 2007 09:39

Hogg Robinson Group PLC01 August 2007 Hogg Robinson Group plc Interim Management Statement Hogg Robinson Group plc ("HRG" or "the Company") is today publishing its firstInterim Management Statement as required by the FSA's disclosure andtransparency rules, commenting on the period since the commencement of thefinancial year. The Company published its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2007("the Preliminary Results") on 28 June 2007. Any material events or transactionswhich had affected the financial position and performance of the Company duringthe first quarter of the current financial year were included in the PreliminaryResults and there have been no material events or transactions affecting thefinancial position or performance of HRG since the publication of thePreliminary Results. The status of the two material events during the quarterended 30 June 2007 which were noted in the Preliminary Results is as follows: • The Company has commenced a restructuring and efficiency programme in Europe. Work on this programme is continuing. We anticipate the costs of this programme to be approximately £3m, the majority of which will be borne in the first half of the current financial year. It is difficult to predict the cost precisely, not least because of employment legislation in certain European countries; despite this, the Company is hopeful of a net benefit in 2007/08 and a full year EBITDA benefit in 2008/09 of between £5m-£7m. • The Company was pleased to announce the acquisition of Weinberg Travel, a Belgium-based family-owned corporate travel company in line with HRG's stated strategy. HRG continues to anticipate further infill acquisitions in the current year which it intends to fund from its own existing resources. The first half of HRG's financial year generally accounts for approximately 30%or less of the Company's full year profitability. The first quarter of thefinancial year is also generally the least significant in terms of financialperformance. Nevertheless, the Board is pleased to report that revenues for thefirst quarter are up on prior year. This is despite the fact that HRG benefitedfrom additional revenues in the comparable period last year from the FIFA WorldCupTM activity, and that the first quarter of the current year also includedEaster (which is traditionally a softer period for business travel, and whichdid not fall in the first quarter of the prior year). HRG's net client retentionrate for its major managed clients remains above 90% and it expects new clientwins to start contributing in the second half of the year. In light of the first quarter revenue performance, combined with the Europeanrestructuring and efficiency programme and good growth from our ExpenseManagement division, the Board continues to remain confident of the prospectsfor HRG and of being able to report a further year of growth for the financialyear ending 31 March 2008. The Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements were posted to Shareholderson 20 July 2007 and copies are available on HRG's website (www.hoggrobinsongroup.com). The Company's Annual General Meeting is due to beheld on 4 September 2007. Copies of the Notice of Meeting convening the AGM,together with explanatory notes are also available on the Company's website. Contact Details Hogg Robinson Group +44 (0) 1256 312 600 David Radcliffe +44 (0) 1256 312 602John Kennerley +44 (0) 1256 312 610Jacqui Higgs +44 (0) 1256 312 622 Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial +44 (0) 20 7861 3232 Nick Lambert +44 (0) 20 7861 3936Andrew Benbow +44 (0) 20 7861 3865 This announcement may contain forward-looking statements with respect to certainof the plans and current goals and expectations relating to the future financialconditions, business performance and results of HRG. By their nature, allforward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate tofuture events and circumstances that are beyond the control of HRG, including,amongst other things, HRG's future profitability, competition within the marketsin which HRG operates and its ability to retain existing clients and win newclients, changes in economic conditions generally or in the travel and airlinesectors, terrorist and geopolitical events, legislative and regulatory changes,the ability of its owned and licensed technology to continue to servicedeveloping demands, changes in taxation regimes, exchange rate fluctuations, andvolatility in HRG's share price. As a result, HRG's actual future financialcondition, business performance and results may differ materially from theplans, goals and expectations expressed or implied in these forward-lookingstatements. HRG undertakes no obligation to publicly update or reviseforward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable law andregulation (including the Listing Rules and the Disclosure and TransparencyRules of the Financial Services Authority). No statement in this announcementis intended to be a profit forecast or be relied upon as a guide to futureperformance. Further information About Hogg Robinson Group plc: • Hogg Robinson Group is an award-winning international corporate services company providing a range of services which add demonstrable value to its corporate clients' travel expenditure. These services include Corporate Travel Management, Consulting, Expense Management, Events & Meetings Management, and Sports. HRG targets the international and national managed sector, where clients require a range of globally-integrated and tailored travel and expense management services. • Managed clients tend to be multinational companies (MNCs) or large national companies which are characterised by having substantial corporate travel expenditure which results in them wishing to manage travellers and expenditure actively and centrally. HRG also provides services to small and medium sized enterprises, which are a significant market for the company in certain countries. • Hogg Robinson Group's growth strategy focuses on achieving increased customer penetration, entry into new markets and increasing its range of services, and developing new higher margin services for large MNCs which are attracted to HRG's offering of managed corporate travel programmes. • Hogg Robinson Group has its headquarters in the UK and has owned or controlled operations in 25 countries throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific (AsPac). It employs approximately 7,000 people and is designed to provide a seamless service to its clients under a single brand. • In addition to its owned companies, HRG operates a global network which, in addition to Europe, North America and AsPac extends to Latin America, Africa and the Middle East bringing its current total reach to approximately 100 countries. HRG has a long-established working relationship with the large majority of its contracted partners. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange