UKM.L Regulatory News (UKM)

27 Jan 2006 07:01

Business Post Group PLC27 January 2006 BUSINESS POST GROUP PLC Trading Statement Since the Interim Announcement of 14 November 2005, the Board's expectations ofmargin improvements in the Group's Parcel Services business, resulting fromimproved selling prices and lower costs, have not been achieved. On 5 December 2005, Guy Buswell was appointed Chief Executive. He has made anumber of significant changes to the management team designed to simplify andstreamline the management of the Group's activities and provide greater focus tothose areas requiring margin improvement. A strategic root and branch approachis now being adopted to the development of the business focusing on customermix, service and cost control. These changes have already yielded an improvementin the quality of service provided to customers. As part of his assessment of the business as its new Chief Executive, Guy hasconcluded a review of the franchise network and identified that further one-offinvestment of £1.5m is required in order to secure its long term future.Accordingly, it is anticipated that the additional costs relating to thefranchise network will be around £4.5m in the current financial year.Consequently, the Board now expects profit before tax and exceptional items forthe year to 31 March 2006 to be approximately £9m. Exceptional items areexpected to total £4.2m, comprising a provision of £3.2m against amounts owed bycertain franchises relating to prior years, as previously disclosed, and costsof £1.0m for management changes. Trading in Specialist Distribution Services remains satisfactory. UK Mailcontinues to trade ahead of the Board's expectations. Service quality remainshigh and the Group continues to attract significant levels of new business. TheGroup has a strong balance sheet and is well placed to fund further investment,in particular for UK Mail. Notes for Editors: Business Post comprises Parcel Services (Express, HomeServe and International),Specialist Distribution Services (UK Pallets and Courier) and Mail Services (UKMail). Enquiries: Business Post Group plc on 27 Jan: 020-7012 2000Guy Buswell (Chief Executive) 0121-335 1111Peter Fitzwilliam (Finance Director) 01753-706 070Bankside Consultants Limited 020-7367 8851/Charles Ponsonby 07789-202 312 Conference call: Guy Buswell and Peter Fitzwilliam will conduct a conference call for analystsand investors at 09.00 today, Friday 27 January 2006, which can be accessed bydialling 020-7162 0025 and quoting Business Post. The call will be recorded andavailable for seven days on 020-7031 4064 via pass code 692075. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange