18 May 2010 07:00
18 May 2010
REGUS PLC - INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
At the Annual General Meeting which will be held later today, John Matthews, Chairman of Regus, the leading global provider of outsourced workplace solutions, will give the following update on trading covering the period from 1 January 2010. Unless otherwise stated, figures quoted in this statement are for the four month period ended 30 April 2010 ("the period").
"Regus has continued to make progress in a challenging trading environment and is trading broadly in line with expectations.
Revenues for the four months to 30 April 2010, (at actual exchange rates) were £340.7m.
The total number of workstations has continued to grow over the last 4 months to 176,078. In line with its stated strategy Regus continues to grow its geographic presence with new centres opened including Tianjin in China, Accra in Ghana, St Helier in Jersey along with openings in existing cities such as Berlin, Chicago and Mexico City.
Regus continues to show robust underlying cash generation. After investing £14.1m to grow and develop our centres and paying £1.0m to purchase shares to settle share option exercises, our net cash position has remained strong at £235.4m at 30 April 2010.
As announced on 22 March 2010, reflecting the Group's trading performance, strong cash position and confidence in the future prospects for the Group, the Board has recommended a 33% increase in the final dividend per share from 1.2p per share to 1.6p per share. Subject to shareholder approval at the AGM this will be paid on 28 May 2010 to shareholders who were on the register as at 1 May 2010.
We continue to see some improvement in our leading indicators particularly within the Americas and Asia Pacific and benefit from the cost reduction programmes we have implemented in prior years. However trading conditions remain tough which is likely to impact our pace of recovery. The UK remains our most difficult region and the early signs of improvement seen in the first quarter have lost some momentum in a fragile market. We are continuing to take measures to achieve an improvement in performance.
While it remains difficult to predict the full year outcome, given the uncertain global economic environment, we believe the conditions remain supportive of a continuing improvement in the business over the remainder of the year. We also continue to be well positioned to exploit our strong cash position and global reach to take advantage of an increased level of low risk growth opportunities. Our programme to increase the rate of capacity expansion continues with progress in all regions.
As previously announced following the conclusion of the Annual General meeting today, Douglas Sutherland will succeed me as non-executive chairman."
For further information, please contact:
| Regus plc Tel: + 352 22 9999 5160 Mark Dixon, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gleadle, Chief Financial Officer | Brunswick Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7404 5959 Simon Sporborg |
| This interim management statement contains certain forward looking statements with respect to the operations of Regus. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements and forecasts. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. |
About Regus
Regus plc is the world's leading global provider of innovative workspace solutions, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world's largest network of video communication studios. Regus delivers a new way to work, whether it's from home, on the road or from an office. Clients such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline and Nokia join thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core business.
Over 500,000 clients a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,000 locations in 450 cities and 80 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. For more information please visit: www.regus.com
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