26 May 2016 07:00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 26 May 2016
Northbridge Industrial Services Plc
AGM Statement
Northbridge Industrial Services Plc ('Northbridge' or 'the Group'), the industrial services and rental company, issues the following trading update ahead of its Annual General Meeting to be held later today at 12.00 noon.
As noted in the preliminary results on 18 April 2016, market conditions in the Oil & Gas industry have shown no signs of any improvement in activity so far this year. Sentiment and activity levels continue to be weak with a backdrop of cutbacks in investment, closures and project delays, all of which impact on Northbridge's trading performance.
Northbridge's business model is focused mainly towards rental of equipment and the Group has high operational gearing, which is coupled with a strong cash flow and a conservative depreciation policy. Despite continuing trading losses, EBITDA remains strongly positive and the net debt position will continue to amortise rapidly during 2016 and 2017.
Northbridge's balance sheet remains strong and the Group has a substantial portfolio of rental assets and all of our main locations remain intact and in operation. Our recent £5.5 million equity fundraising has further strengthened our cash resources considerably and gives us the flexibility to address current challenging markets and to take advantage of opportunities which may arise when conditions allow.
Whilst short term trading visibility remains challenging, it is still too early to forecast any material changes to the likely full year out turn. In maintaining the size and scope of our hire fleet, and with substantial reductions in our overhead costs, our operational gearing has increased and our performance will be highly sensitive to modest improvements in revenue. We remain optimistic that Northbridge will benefit from this strengthened position when market conditions begin to improve, but we believe this will be unlikely before 2017.
For further information:
Northbridge Industrial Services Plc 01283 531645
Eric Hook, Chief Executive Officer
Stockdale Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker) 020 7601 6100
Robert Finlay / Antonio Bossi / Henry Willcocks
Buchanan 020 7466 5000
Charles Ryland / Stephanie Watson
About Northbridge:
Northbridge Industrial Services plc hires and sells specialist industrial equipment. With offices or agents in the UK, USA, Dubai, Belgium, Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Brazil and South Korea, Northbridge has a global customer base. This includes utility companies, the oil and gas sector, shipping, banking, mining, construction and the public sector. The product range includes loadbanks, transformers and oil tools. Northbridge was admitted to AIM in 2006 since when it has grown by providing a high level of service, responsiveness and flexibility to customers, by the acquisition of companies in the UK, Dubai, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand and Singapore and through investing further in those acquired companies to make them more successful. Northbridge continues to seek suitable businesses for acquisition across the world.