15 Jul 2020 07:00
15 July 2020
Hydrogen Group PLC
Hydrogen Group plc ("Hydrogen", the "Group")
Trading Update
Hydrogen Group, the global specialist recruitment group, provides the following update on trading for the six months ended 30 June 2020.
Trading during the period has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Client demand was adversely impacted in the APAC region from January, this spread rapidly to our EMEA and US business during the latter stages of the first quarter. Although activity levels have broadly stabilised during the second quarter, we have yet to see any meaningful signs of a recovery in demand levels. As a result, net fee income for H1 totalled circa £11.7m (H1 2019: £15.3m).
As stated in our final results for 2019, the Group's primary objectives during the pandemic have been to do everything we can to ensure that our staff and other stakeholders are as safe as possible, and to focus on maintaining the strength of our balance sheet by preserving cash.
To that end we acted quickly to reduce costs and actively manage the Group's working capital. These actions, coupled with government support in the form of payment deferral schemes and job protection support programmes across the multiple territories in which the Group operates, have enabled the Group to increase net cash during the period to £6.5m (31 December 2019: £4.5m, and 30 June 2019: £3.4m).
Alongside this, the Group has maintained the critical mass in all our key markets that is required to benefit from a recovery in client demand levels when it arises.
Enquiries:
Hydrogen Group plc 020 7090 7702
Ian Temple CEO
John Hunter, COO & CFO
Shore Capital (NOMAD and Broker) 020 7408 4090
Edward Mansfield / James Thomas