Kazera Global Regulatory News (KZG)

23 Mar 2007 07:01

Worthington Nicholls Group plc23 March 2007 Worthington Nicholls Annual General Meeting Update ("Worthington Nicholls" or the "Group") The following Chairman's AGM Report will be made at the Company's AGM being heldtoday: Chairman's AGM Report This has been a very important year for Worthington Nicholls. Our decision tojoin AIM and raise expansion capital was a significant milestone in the Group'shistory and development. The experience of joining AIM has been a very positive one. Our increasedcommercial profile and stronger balance sheet have enabled us to implement somevery exciting changes within the Group. As you are aware from our results for the year to 30 September 2006, we reportedproforma annualised turnover of £25 million, gross profits of £7.2 million andearnings before interest and tax of £3.7 million. As a result of these profits,we were delighted to propose payment of our first dividend as a publicly quotedcompany. I am pleased to report that I am encouraged by our current trading position.Looking ahead, we have a very healthy pipeline of new orders, including workfrom five new hotel group clients that have commissioned Worthington Nicholls toinstall their air conditioning systems for the very first time. Currently, wehave 17 retained hotel and 16 retained retail clients. Each new contract gives Worthington Nicholls the opportunity to secure preferredsupplier status. This status, in turn, helps us to secure future additionalcontracts if we continue to provide excellent service and focus on eachcustomer's particular requirements. We have also been pleased to welcome new staff and management to the Group, someof whom have joined us as a result of the acquisitions we have made and othersthat we have hired to facilitate our organic growth. In late June, we acquiredProject Air Limited ("Project Air"), a profitable specialist installer of airconditioning systems to the retail sector, and in December we bought LumenglowLimited ("Lumenglow"), a specialist electrical contractor. We are pleased toreport that in both instances the integration process is proceeding smoothly. In integrating these companies, we have been aided greatly by the skills andexperience of Tim Hunt, who joined the Group as full time Finance Director inJanuary 2007. We are pleased at how quickly and well Tim has integrated himselfwithin the Group, and we are already benefiting from the improvements to ourfinancial accounting systems that he has introduced. We believe Tim'sexperience will be key as we continue to explore further acquisitions and growsales. Our acquisition strategy is to look for opportunities that profitably increaseour market share in existing sectors as well as broadening out into new sectors,such as the retail sector as we did with the acquisition of Project Air. Inaddition, through acquisition we may seek to bring in-house certain trade skillsthat are necessary for installations. By doing this we increase the range ofservices to our clients and should improve profit margins. It also helps us tomonitor and ensure high standards of workmanship on the projects that we run.This is exactly what we have been able to do with Lumenglow. Not only were weable to acquire skilled electricians but we will also be able to makesignificant savings from ceasing to outsource electrical work to othercompanies. The Group has also made its first steps into Europe through the majorinstallations we are undertaking in Amsterdam. This has resulted in additionalinterest from other potential European clients and we look forward to buildingon this platform going forward. In closing, shareholders will be pleased to hear there that is a growingawareness of the potential issues caused by the R22 gas replacement programmeamongst our clients and their need to comply with European legislation. As aresult we are seeing an increasingly healthy flow of new tenders from bothexisting and new customers. Peter Worthington Chairman 23 March 2007 Enquiries: Worthington Nicholls 0870 609 1829Mark Worthington, Chief ExecutiveDavid Levis, Corporate Director Gresham PR Ltd 020 7404 9000Neil Boom / Laura Black Corporate Synergy 020 7448 4400Rhod Cruwys / Romil Patel Halliwells LLPFrank Shephard / Lisa Stavropoulos 0870 365 8000 Information on Worthington Nicholls can be accessed via the Group's website:www.worthington-nicholls.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange