13 Apr 2017 08:00
Nature Group PLC
("Nature Group" or the "Company")
Trading Update
Nature Group PLC (AIM:NGR), the provider of port reception facilities and waste treatment solutions for the oil, marine and process industries, provides an update on trading in the year ended 31 December 2016 ("FY2016").
In its announcement of 17 January 2017, the Company indicated that it expected the loss after tax incurred for both Continuing and Discontinued Operations during the first six months of FY2016 (£1.4 million) to widen substantially for the full year as a result of various factors. Accordingly, the Company confirms that it expects to report a loss after tax for both Continuing and Discontinued Operations for the period of between £3.5 million to £3.8 million, based on its unaudited management accounts. This result reflects the impact of a number of factors and non-trading items, including the disposal of the Company's operations in Gibraltar, restructuring of the Oil & Gas division in Norway and a complete write off of the Company's joint venture in Portugal. As a consequence, the Company's cash reserves are limited and management has elected not to proceed with some of the minor investment opportunities or other actions intended following completion of the sale of the Gibraltar operations.
The loss after tax attributable to Continuing Operations after deduction of trading and non-trading incidentals, is expected to be approximately £1.2 million, attributable in large part to the difficult market conditions experienced by the Oil & Gas division during the second half of the year. Trading conditions for this division have improved in recent months, with the contract win for the provision of containerised slop-treatment units in the Central North Sea to an international oil company, announced in December 2016 becoming operational in February 2017, albeit the recovery has been slower than management initially anticipated.
The financial information in this announcement is unaudited. The Company expects to announce its audited financial results for FY2016 on Monday, 22 May 2017.
Jan Vesseur, Chief Executive Officer of Nature Group, commented:
"The expected result for FY2016 is obviously disappointing. However, with the sale of our Gibraltar operations in January 2017 and the decision to fully write off the value of our joint venture in Portugal, we have removed the last non-contributing entity of the Group and have significantly restructured our cost-base and are now in a position to move forward. Our focus is now on our Maritime operations in Rotterdam and Houston and our Oil & Gas activities. As a result of the significant efforts of management in restructuring the business through this difficult period, we expect to achieve break-even in 2017 as a whole, but for performance to be weighted towards an improved 2nd half, fuelled particularly by further project wins in our Oil & Gas division and strengthening performance in our Houston operations."
For more information
Nature Group PLC
Jan Vesseur, CEO Tel: +31 6462 878 96
Maarten Smits, CFO Tel: +31 6138 207 80
Berend van Straten, Chairman Tel: +31 6268 056 05
Cenkos Securities plc
Neil McDonald Tel: +44 (0)131 220 9771 / +44 (0)207 397 1953
Beth McKiernan Tel:+44 (0)131 220 9778 / +44 (0)207 397 1950
Nick Tulloch Tel: +44 (0)131 220 9772
About Nature Group:
Nature Group combines port reception services and facilities, offshore treatment services and the latest sustainable waste treatment technologies in a steadily growing global network. Nature Group is traded on the AIM market, (ticker: NGR). www.ngrp.com