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Half Yearly Report

2 Dec 2014 07:00

RNS Number : 5330Y
WYG Plc
02 December 2014
 



2nd December 2014

 

WYG plc ("WYG" or the "Group")

Half Year Report

Strong profit and order book growth with further improvement expected in the second half of the year

 

WYG, the global programme, project management and technical consultancy, announces its half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2014.

 

Financial highlights:

Strong profit growth on revenues marginally up from second half of financial year 2014

· Revenue* of £63.2m (H1 2013: £63.9m; H2 2014: £63.0m)

· Operating profit** up 20% to £2.1m (H1 2013: £1.7m)

· Adjusted profit before tax** up 35% to £1.9m (H1 2013: £1.4m)

· Loss before tax of £0.4m (H1 2013: £0.7m)

· Adjusted** earnings per share of 2.9p (H1 2013: 1.8p)

· Resumption of interimdividend at 0.3p per Ordinary Share (2013: nil)

· Unrestricted cash after investments as at 30 September 2014 of £6.6m (H1 2013: £12.5m)

 

*Including share of Joint Venture revenues

**Before separately disclosed items

 

Operational highlights:

Strong underlying growth offset by delayed approval of EU Budget

· 13% increase in UK revenue to £40.0m driven by buoyant infrastructure and planning markets

· Strong contract wins in EEA and MENA following diversification strategy; revenue held back by EU Budget hiatus (Budget was finally approved in December 2013)

· Prior period focus on quality revenues underpinned improvement in Group profitability

· Acquisition of Alliance Environment and Planning Limited (Alliance Planning) creates one of the largest planning businesses in the UK

 

Post period end and Outlook:

· Trading since the half year end is in line with management's upwardly revised expectations

· Order book increased by 10% to £95.5m at 30 September 2014 (31 March 2014: £86.8m)

· Success with key clients and major frameworks underpins future revenue expectations

· Won 6 of 7 targeted major frameworks in the UK; potentially delivering over £100m of revenue over next 3-7 years

· International development opportunities have grown post period end

· €130m estimated pipeline of project opportunities in pre-accession countries following EU budget approval

· Strong pipeline across Africa following significant increases in DFID and EuropeAid budgets for the region

 

Paul Hamer, Chief Executive Officer of WYG, said:

"We have enjoyed a very positive first half. Building on last year's momentum, the UK has performed particularly well and we have retained or won the overwhelming majority of the key framework agreements that we have bid for, which are expected to generate a substantial proportion of our revenues over the next 2 to 3 years.

"We have also won a number of important new international contracts, significantly improved our order book, and further strengthened our business through acquisitions and investments.

"We are already seeing an acceleration of international development opportunities and the benefits of the approval of the EU Budget during the second half of the year, creating almost more opportunity than WYG can service so we continue to place a strong emphasis on the formation of strategic partnerships and identifying select acquisitions which can contribute to the Group's strategic ambitions.

"Overall, we are pleased with the improvement in profitability so far. The strong order book growth we are beginning to see allows us to be confident about WYG's long term prospects."

 

For further information, please contact:

 

WYG plc Tel: +44 (0) 113 278 7111

Paul Hamer, Chief Executive Officer

Sean Cummins, Group Finance Director

 

MHP Communications Tel: +44 (0) 203 128 8100

John Olsen / Katie Hunt / Vicky Watkins / Ollie Hoare

 

N+1 Singer Tel: +44 (0) 207 496 3000

Sandy Fraser / Richard Lindley

 

WH Ireland Limited Tel: +44 (0) 113 394 6600

Andrew Kitchingman / Liam Gribben

 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Introduction

I am pleased to report that we have enjoyed another very positive start to the year. As predicted, revenue in the first half of the year was in line with the corresponding period last year with a continued steady improvement in operating profit, reflecting our focus on quality revenues, and our order book is growing strongly. Trading since the period end has been in line with the recently upgraded market expectations for the full year and we are already starting to see an expected acceleration of international development opportunities in the second half.

 

In the UK, we are benefitting from the renewed confidence in our core markets. This market is primarily focused on asset creation working alongside our clients to help them transform their visions into reality. The business has seen a significant increase in revenue, profitability and its pipeline of opportunities, resulting largely from the resurgent activity in the construction and house building sector. We have also retained or won the overwhelming majority of the key framework agreements that we have bid for and we expect these frameworks to sustain a substantial proportion of our activity over the next two to three years. It is becoming apparent that with the improvement in confidence in our markets the potential value of contracts to be let under the frameworks is increasing.

 

Significant wins in the half year include the award of a place on the MOD's four year Principal Support Provider framework for services to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. Under this framework alone we have won, submitted or are in the process of submitting 11 tenders with a capital value of £500m and potential fees of approximately £15m. Recently, we have also been appointed to the Homes & Communities Agency's four year multidisciplinary framework and, based on previous experience, expect to win a number of major projects during the life of the contract.

 

As previously announced, we acquired Alliance Planning on 10 September 2014, creating one of the largest planning businesses in the UK. This acquisition is in line with our strategy of growing quality revenues particularly in our strategic front-end client offering. For the year ended 31 July 2014, Alliance Planning reported turnover of £3.3m (2013: £2.7m) and profit before taxation (and before the remuneration of its owner-directors) of £0.8m (2013: £0.5m). The acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing.

 

Our international development business is broadly divided into: social development (including poverty alleviation, climate change, resilience, policy development, agriculture, water & wastewater) and we continue to be a leader in the provision of such technical assistance in this market; and work supporting UK and other government agencies in rebuilding fragile and conflict affected states (FCAS).

 

We have felt some impact from the delay in signing the seven year EU budget which was finally approved in December 2013 with a programme volume of €940bn. Consequently, revenue during the first half was lower than expected, however, we have maintained operating profit levels and the shift in timing has also led to a significant increase in new work being bid for delivery in 2015 to 2020. Given that WYG is a market-leader in both Turkey and South Eastern Europe where 70% of the €11.7bn funding dedicated to pre-accession reform will be spent and based on our excellent track record of winning major work programmes, we believe that we are strongly positioned to win a substantial proportion of what we bid for, especially in the field of pre-accession work. We have, to date, identified a pipeline of specific projects across these geographies with total potential fees in excess of €130m which we are now focused on winning.

 

Our FCAS work continues to grow as we work closely with the UK's Ministry of Defence, Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development (DFID) and EuropeAid. Both DFID and EuropeAid have significantly increased budgets for Africa where we also deliver projects for the World Bank, European Investment Bank and other International Finance Institutions. Delivery of our Security and Justice project in Libya is, for the time being, on a much-reduced scale whilst the geo-political situation is reappraised. We were able to complete our work on the inception phase and currently no additional work is included in our stated order book. Across Africa as a whole, we have a strong order book and pipeline and are currently delivering 31 projects in 20 countries.

 

We have also won a number of important new international contracts, notably our appointment as a key partner in a consortium led by Amec Foster Wheeler to support the development of Poland's first nuclear power plant. The contract, which was signed in November 2014, will be worth a minimum of £6.2m to WYG over the next three years, rising to up to £35m if all optional work is undertaken over the next 10 years.

Given the opportunities that the Group has, we have continued to make investments in line with our growth initiatives strategy, including completing a number of senior hires to extend our offering and business winning capability in areas such as FCAS. We have also been able to invest in new programmes to enhance our leadership and management skills, particularly at the graduate entry level, further upgrades to our IT hardware and software, and the wider rollout of our project management programme.

Whilst we maintain a flexible resource structure in international markets, using local relationships and expertise as required, we have also increased Group headcount during the first half of the financial year to 1,424 (31 March 2014: 1,255) reflecting the significant increase in demand for our services.

Strategy

Since the financial restructuring was completed in July 2011, WYG has achieved a turnaround in profitability and is now well positioned for growth. Our focus on delivering shareholder value and driving growth throughout the business is unchanged and our progress is now bolstered by a strengthened financial basis and the investments we have made. We continue to seek to leverage our existing market positions and client relationships to gain access to new markets. We aim to make the most of our people's unique skills and expertise to address and solve a number of select global challenges:

· Fragile States and Stabilisation - working with government and donor clients to create stability and facilitate post-conflict restructuring across many fragile states;

· Preserving the Global Environment - ensuring that the world's growing population is served with the necessary energy and water infrastructure whilst minimising carbon impact and climate change. This challenge is faced by developed, emerging and third-world economies alike; and

· Urban Development and Connected Cities - developing infrastructure related to population expansion, urbanisation and transportation as the world seeks to become super-connected.

We are creating almost more opportunity than we can service directly so we continue to place a strong emphasis on the formation of strategic partnerships and identifying acquisitions which can contribute to the Group's strategic ambitions.

Results

Gross revenue (including share of Joint Venture revenues) was, as expected, stable at £63.2m (H1 2013: £63.9m) during the period. This comprises a £4.6m increase in UK revenue offset by the decrease in our international revenue largely due to the hiatus caused by the delay in signing the new EU budget.

Operating profit performance continues to improve with the Group making an operating profit before separately disclosed items of £2.1m (H1 2013: profit of £1.7m) and an adjusted profit before tax of £1.9m (H1 2013: £1.4m). On a statutory basis, the Group made a loss before tax of £0.4m (H1 2013: £0.7m) on pre-joint-venture revenues of £62.3m (H1 2013: £63.9m).

Earnings per share adjusted to exclude separately disclosed items was 2.9p (H1 2013: 1.8p).

The Group closed the period with unrestricted cash of £6.6m (H1 2013: £12.5m) and net cash at 30 September 2014 of £8.4m (H1 2013: £15.8m), reflecting a further payment in respect of the investment in Upper Quartile LLP, the initial cash consideration for the acquisition of Alliance Planning and mobilisation on a number of large scale projects. With our continued focus on cash generation and the effective management of working capital, we expect cash balances to recover in the second half. We have continued to reduce the number and total value of outstanding legacy bonds ahead of plan and now expect them all to have been closed out by the end of the calendar year. We are managing carefully our utilisation of the new trade finance facility with Santander, which enables us to provide bonds at a more commercially viable level than before.

Dividend

We were very pleased that, with shareholder approval in September 2014, we were able to resume the payment of dividends for the first time since 2008.

 

For the current period, based on our improved results and strong balance sheet, the Board has decided that it is appropriate to approve an interim dividend of 0.3p per Ordinary Share (30 September 2013: nil). The interim dividend will be paid on 23 January 2015 to shareholders on the register on 30 December 2014 and WYG shares will trade ex-dividend on 29 December 2014.

Outlook

In the UK, we have performed strongly, building on the Government's continuing investment in major infrastructure projects and the re-invigoration of the construction and house building sectors which directly benefits our core, front-end disciplines of planning and development.

 

Overseas, a rapidly growing order book indicates that the impact of the delayed EU budget approval has now passed, meaning that we expect to see revenue grow in the second half of the year. We continue to make good progress diversifying into fragile and developing states and we anticipate good levels of growth, particularly in Africa building on the investments we have made in that region in the past 18 months.

 

We continue to look at a range of opportunities, both in the UK and internationally, to invest organically and through selective acquisitions made possible by the Group's improving profit and cash position. WYG is now a well-diversified Group with a robust financial base and strong market positions in the geographies and sectors in which it operates.

 

 

Mike McTighe

Chairman

2 December 2014

BUSINESS REVIEW

Operationally, the Group is structured, and reports, on a regional basis as described below. In a change from previous years, central overheads are now reported as a separate item in the segmental analysis.

UK (63% of Group Revenue)

The UK region generated revenue of £40.0m (H1 2013: £35.4m) with an operating profit before separately disclosed items and central overheads of £2.7m (H1 2013: £2.2m).

The UK region has continued to grow in the first half of the year. Growth has been strongest in our targeted sectors: the residential sector in particular has driven demand for all of our services and our defence business continues to grow. We have secured a place on the MOD's Defence Infrastructure Organisations Principal Support Provider framework for the next four years. This is expected to include major programmes of work on the MOD's property estate throughout the UK.

 

As previously reported, in order to underpin our continuing growth in the UK region, we have targeted a number of key frameworks, from both our largest current clients and a selected number of new clients. We have been successful in six of the seven targeted frameworks, potentially delivering in excess of £100m of future revenue over the next three to seven years.

 

These frameworks include: Sainsbury's Planning Framework, the NHS Shared Business Service for the provision of construction consultancy services, Transport for London for the design and implementation of traffic signal schemes, and a number of nationwide contracts for asbestos consultancy with clients such as Royal Mail, Local Government Shared Services, and Surrey County Council. Together they are expected to generate significant revenues across all of our services.

 

Our focus on retaining and winning key frameworks and the strategic targeting of clients and projects has resulted in significant order book growth in the first half of the year. The UK region's closing order book of £50.0m is more than 28% higher than at the end of our first half last year, and £5.0m above that reported at March 2014.

 

On 10 September 2014 we acquired Alliance Planning. This targeted acquisition supports our strategy to focus growth in our front end, niche services and makes us one of the biggest planning practices in the UK, strengthening both the geographic and sector diversity of our planning business.

 

Our people remain absolutely key to our success and we continue to develop strategies to improve our ability to retain and attract key staff. Headcount in the UK continues to grow and we anticipate further expansion through to the end of the year.

 

Europe, Africa and Asia (EAA) (25% of Group Revenue)

 

In this region WYG operates through four sub-regional business units - Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), South East Europe (SEE), Africa and Asia. In the period the EAA region generated revenue (including share of Joint Venture revenues) of £15.6m (H1 2013: £19.8m), with an operating profit before separately disclosed items and central overheadsof £0.7m (H1 2013: £1.2m).

 

The CEE business unit continued to provide management, training, planning, engineering and environmental services to public and private sector clients. During the period we were proud to announce our participation in the winning bid, led by Amec Foster Wheeler, for the owner's engineer/technical adviser on the nuclear new build project in Poland. Within this contract WYG will be an important part of the team providing support to PGE EJ1 in implementing the planned integrated proceedings for the selection of the technology vendor, construction, fuel supply and disposal, operator and strategic partner for the first 3000 megawatt nuclear power plant in the country.

 

In SEE, WYG continued its successful involvement in the Infrastructure Projects Facility (IPF) programme, being a member of the winning consortium for the newest, fourth phase (IPF4) of this major development project, which is implemented throughout the whole region. WYG also benefited from its localization strategy in Croatia where, due to our up-front investment and pre-positioning, we have emerged as a leading consultancy providing services supporting our clients in accessing the financing now made available in that country through the Structural and Cohesion Fund instruments.

 

Important developments took place in our Africa business unit, which was significantly strengthened with the acquisition of Delta Partnership Solutions Limited (Delta) in March 2014. Delta is a specialist development consultancy, which we are now using as one of the platforms to drive our expansion in this market. Our work on the recently extended £18m Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility in Southern Africa has been recognized with the award of 'Overseas Project of the Year' by the Association for Project Management.

 

With participation in the important DFID Security, Justice and Defense contract in Libya, WYG has once again proved its ability not only to win and deliver work in the most difficult FCAS environments, but also our flexibility and sector-leading duty of care solutions necessary to respond to changing clients' needs and security issues in the face of a rapidly deteriorating in-country situation.

 

In Asia, WYG continued to deliver a portfolio of multi-sector projects, with targeted business development throughout the region, and opportunities especially around the public financial management sector. The WYG Russian business, operating as a collaborative joint venture, delivered a steady stream of engineering and consultancy services to the mining sector.

 

The current period has brought the benefits to WYG of the earlier measures taken to diversify the business, so as to supplement its leading position on the European Union aid and Structural and Cohesion Funds markets, with other aid (especially DFID) and national public and private sector clients and targeted acquisitions. Since 1 January 2014, excluding the nuclear new build project in Poland, we have increased our order book from £32.9m to £34.4m. This has allowed the region to minimize the effect of the slow-down resulting from delays in the transition from the 2007-2013 to the 2014-2020 EU funding cycles. Following market development initiatives, Africa is now a major region of growth and our specialist FCAS skills and solutions will now be further leveraged for further market expansion.

MENA (12% of Group Revenue)

The MENA region (which includes Turkey) contributed revenue of £7.5m (H1 2013: £8.8m) with an operating profit before separately disclosed items and central overheads of £0.6m (H1 2013: £0.2m).

Our three major water and wastewater projects assisting the Turkish Ministry of Environment in the supervision and design of water and wastewater infrastructure to meet EU environmental standards, in Ordu, Siverek and Bulancak, are progressing well. In Ordu and Siverek, the construction of the wastewater treatment plants, which are the major components of the investment, have been completed and handed over. In Ordu and Bulancak the design and tender dossiers for the construction of the wastewater network have been completed by our teams and the related works tender procedures are ongoing, while in Siverek construction has now started.

In the period, we have won several major new framework contracts for Turkish government ministries and municipalities and, as we look to diversify and strengthen our presence outside the water and wastewater sector, we are pursuing opportunities in environmental fields such as solid waste, groundwater and marine pollution. We have recently been shortlisted for an EU project to provide technical assistance to a significant transport programme. In the private sector, following last year's UK-Turkey Healthcare event held by UKTI and British Expertise (and sponsored by WYG), we have been shortlisted by two major contractors to advise on high biosecurity laboratories and Environmental/ Social Impact Assessment services for their large health campus projects.

The six months to 30 September also proved successful for our socio-economic teams who have completed three large scale projects in the human resources development and employment sectors and are currently implementing seven major projects in diversified sectors not only in Turkey but also in Egypt. The team has won five new contracts contributing to an overall increase of 25% in the MENA region order book from £8.9m to £11.1m since 31 March 2014.

Although our work in Afghanistan has come to an end, our skills and knowledge in this area have been further recognised as we are now supporting the British Army's Royal Engineers in their ongoing overseas projects in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Overall, whilst the MENA region has experienced a short period of declining revenue as a result of the tender processes for projects being extended, we are now seeing activity pick up rapidly on the projects we have recently won and expect that in 2015 our recent run of successful bidding activity will enable us to return to previous levels of activity, with good momentum into the following year.

 

Unaudited consolidated income statement

For the six months ended 30 September 2014

 

 

Six months ended 30 September 2014

 

Six months ended 30 September 2013

 

Year ended

31 March 2014

Audited

 

Notes

£'000

£'000

£'000

Continuing operations

Revenue including share of joint venture revenues

63,185

63,890

126,914

Less share of joint venture revenues

(891)

-

-

Revenue

5

62,294

63,890

126,914

Operating expenses

(62,805)

(64,337)

(124,560)

Share of result of joint ventures

244

-

-

Operating (loss)/profit*

(267)

(447)

2,354

Finance costs

6

(149)

(296)

(577)

(Loss)/profit before tax

(416)

(743)

1,777

Tax credit/(charge)

7

51

(219)

284

(Loss)/profit for the period

(365)

(962)

2,061

 

 

(Loss)/profit attributable to:

Owners of the parent

(431)

(959)

2,053

Non controlling interests

66

(3)

8

(365)

(962)

2,061

(Loss)/earnings per share

8

Basic

(0.7p)

(1.5p)

3.2p

Diluted

(0.7p)

(1.5p)

2.9p

 

* Operating loss includes a number of items that are separately disclosed in note 4.

The accompanying notes to the Half Year Report are an integral part of this consolidated income statement.

 

Unaudited consolidated statement of comprehensive income

For the six months ended 30 September 2014

 

 

 

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

 

Six months

ended 30

September

2013

 

Year to

31 March

 2014

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

(Loss)/profit for the period

(365)

(962)

2,061

Other comprehensive (expense)/income:

Currency translation differences

(734)

(40)

(680)

Tax on items taken directly to equity*

-

(47)

-

Dividend payable (note 9)

(332)

Remeasurement of net defined pension liability*

(14)

203

(175)

Other comprehensive (expense)/income for the period

(1,080)

116

(855)

Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the period

(1,445)

(846)

1,206

 

Total comprehensive (expense)/income attributable to:

Owners of the parent

(1,511)

(843)

1,198

Non controlling interests

66

(3)

8

(1,445)

(846)

1,206

 

\* These items will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss.

 

 

 

Unaudited consolidated balance sheet

As at 30 September 2014

 

 

 

 

 

As at

30 September

2014

 

As at

30 September

2013

 

As at

31 March

2014

 

Notes

£'000

£'000

£'000

Non-current assets

Goodwill

11

13,545

11,785

12,796

Other intangible assets

12

5,759

5,003

4,802

Property, plant and equipment

12

2,462

2,077

2,242

Investments in Joint Ventures

249

-

-

22,015

18,865

19,840

Current assets

Work in progress

21,890

26,647

21,563

Trade and other receivables

26,266

22,317

22,532

Tax recoverable

48

103

69

Cash and cash equivalents

8,507

16,931

15,857

56,711

65,998

60,021

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

(42,678)

(45,371)

(41,337)

Current tax liabilities

(976)

(708)

(924)

Financial liabilities

14

(138)

(1,134)

(662)

(43,792)

(47,213)

(42,923)

Net current assets

12,919

18,785

17,098

Non-current liabilities

Financial liabilities

14

(484)

(395)

(454)

Retirement benefit obligation

(2,848)

(3,293)

(3,306)

Deferred tax liabilities

(1,025)

(1,364)

(1,107)

Provisions, liabilities and other charges

13

(10,373)

(15,926)

(11,984)

(14,730)

(20,978)

(16,851)

Net assets

20,204

16,672

20,087

Equity attributable to the owners of the parent

Share capital

72

70

70

Hedging and translation reserve

644

2,018

1,378

Retained earnings

19,164

14,337

18,381

19,880

16,425

19,829

Non controlling interest

324

247

258

Total equity

20,204

16,672

20,087

 

 

 

Unaudited consolidated statement of changes in shareholders' equity

For the six months ended 30 September 2013

 

 

 

Share

capital

Hedging and

translation

reserve

 

Retained

earnings

Total

 

Non controlling interest

 

 

Total equity

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Balance as at 1 April 2013

70

2,058

14,310

16,438

-

16,438

Loss for the period

-

-

(959)

(959)

(3)

(962)

Other comprehensive (expense)/income:

Currency translation differences

-

(40)

-

(40)

-

(40)

Tax on items taken directly to equity

-

-

(47)

(47)

-

(47)

Remeasurement of net defined pension liability

-

-

203

203

-

203

Other comprehensive (expense)/income for the period

-

(40)

156

116

-

116

Total comprehensive expense for the period

-

(40)

(803)

(843)

(3)

(846)

Share based payments

-

-

1,225

1,225

-

1,225

Arising on acquisition of subsidiary

-

-

(395)

(395)

250

(145)

Balance at 30 September 2013

70

2,018

14,337

16,425

247

16,672

 

 

For the six months ended 31 March 2014

 

 

 

Share

capital

Hedging and

translation

reserve

Retained

earnings

Total

 

Non controlling interest

 

 

Total equity

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Balance as at 1 October 2013

70

2,018

14,337

16,425

247

16,672

Profit for the period

-

-

3,012

3,012

11

3,023

Other comprehensive (expense)/income:

Currency translation differences

-

(640)

-

(640)

-

(640)

Tax on items taken directly to equity

-

-

47

47

-

47

Remeasurement of net defined pension liability

-

-

(378)

(378)

-

(378)

Other comprehensive expense for the period

-

(640)

(331)

(971)

-

(971)

Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the period

-

(640)

2,681

2,041

11

2,052

Share based payments

-

-

1,363

1,363

-

1,363

Balance at 31 March 2014

70

1,378

18,381

19,829

258

20,087

 

 

 

 

Unaudited consolidated statement of changes in shareholders' equity (continued)

For the six months ended 30 September 2014

 

 

 

Share

capital

Hedging and

translation

reserve

Retained

earnings

Total

 

Non controlling interest

 

 

Total equity

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Balance at 1 April 2014

70

1,378

18,381

19,829

258

20,087

Loss for the period

-

-

(431)

(431)

66

(365)

Other comprehensive (expense)/income:

Currency translation differences

-

(734)

-

(734)

-

(734)

Dividend payable

(332)

(332)

-

(332)

Remeasurement of net defined pension liability

-

-

(14)

(14)

-

(14)

Other comprehensive expense for the period

-

(734)

(346)

(1,080)

-

(1,080)

Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the period

-

(734)

(777)

(1,511)

66

(1,445)

Share issue

2

-

-

2

-

2

Share based payments

-

-

1,560

1,560

-

1,560

Balance at 30 September 2014

72

644

19,164

19,880

324

20,204

 

 

 

 

 

Unaudited consolidated cash flow statement

For the six months ended 30 September 2014

 

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

 

 

Six months

ended 30

September 2013

 

Year ended

31 March

 2014

 

Note

£'000

£'000

£'000

Operating activities

Cash used in operations

15

(3,890)

(1,368)

(87)

Interest paid

(100)

(284)

(455)

Tax paid

51

(101)

(3)

Net cash used in operating activities

(3,939)

(1,753)

(545)

Investing activities

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

(836)

(279)

(1,113)

Purchases of intangible assets (computer software)

(201)

(104)

(279)

Purchase of businesses

(1,475)

(441)

(1,083)

Disposal of subsidiary undertakings

-

(270)

(270)

Net cash used in investing activities

(2,512)

(1,094)

(2,745)

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

(6,451)

(2,847)

(3,290)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

15,195

18,644

18,644

Effects of foreign exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents

(375)

-

(159)

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

8,369

15,797

15,195

 

1. Company details

WYG plc is incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act and is registered in England & Wales with registered number 1869543. The address of its registered office is Arndale Court, Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 2UJ. The Company's ordinary shares are traded on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange plc.

The principal activity of the Group in the period under review was that of international multi-skilled consultant. The Group's revenue derives mainly from activities in the UK, Eastern Europe, and Middle East & North Africa.

2. Basis of preparation

This condensed consolidated interim financial information for the six months ended 30 September 2014 should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the period ended 31 March 2014, which are available on the Company's website at www.wyg.com, and have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union. While the financial figures included in this half-yearly report have been computed in accordance with IFRSs are applicable to interim periods, this half-yearly report does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as that term is defined in IAS 34.

This condensed consolidated interim financial information was approved for issue on 2 December 2014.

This condensed consolidated interim financial information does not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014 were approved by the Board of Directors on 3 June 2014 and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditor on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain any statement under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

The condensed consolidated interim financial information has neither been reviewed nor audited.

3. Accounting policies

The accounting policies applied are consistent with those of the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2014, as described in those annual financial statements.

Taxes on income in the interim periods are accrued using the tax rate that would be applicable to expected annual earnings.

 

4. Detailed consolidated income statement

Revenue including share of joint venture revenues

Operating profit/(loss)

 

 

 

Profit/(loss) before tax

£'000

£'000

£'000

Six months ending 30 September 2014

Before separately disclosed items

63,185

2,056

1,907

Separately disclosed items

-

(2,323)

(2,323)

Total

63,185

(267)

(416)

Six months ending 30 September 2013

Before separately disclosed items

63,890

1,707

1,411

Separately disclosed items

-

(2,154)

(2,154)

Total

63,890

(447)

(743)

Year ending 31 March 2014

Before separately disclosed items

126,914

4,806

4,229

Separately disclosed items

-

(2,452)

(2,452)

Total

126,914

2,354

1,777

 

 

Details of separately disclosed items

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

 

Six months

ended 30

September 2013

Year ended

31 March

 2014

£'000

£'000

£'000

Other credits

-

-

2,384

Share option costs

(1,704)

(1,600)

(3,650)

Amortisation of acquired intangible assets

(587)

(554)

(1,186)

Group's share of taxation relating to Joint Ventures

(32)

-

-

Separately disclosed items

(2,323)

(2,154)

(2,452)

 

The Group has incurred a number of items in the period and in the prior year, whose significance is sufficient to warrant separate disclosure. The key elements included within separately disclosed items are:

· Period charge in relation to share option costs

· Period charge for the amortisation of acquired intangibles

· Period charge for the Group's share of tax in relation to Joint Ventures has been disclosed separately in order to present profit before tax, a measure which WYG management uses for internal performance analysis. There were no Joint Ventures in the prior periods.

· Items included in other credits/(costs) in the prior period, relate to the release of unutilised restructuring and vacant leasehold provisions net of costs in relation to the bank refinancing and acquisition related costs.

5. Segmental information

IFRS 8 requires segment reporting to be based on the internal financial information reported to the chief operating decision maker. The Group's chief operating decision maker is deemed to be the senior management team comprising the Chief Executive Officer the Group Finance Director and the Group Commercial Director. Its primary responsibility is to manage the Group's day to day operations and analyse trading performance.

 

The Group's segments are detailed below and are those segments reported in the Group's management accounts used by the senior management team as the primary means for analysing trading performance. The Executive Committee assesses profit performance using operating profit measured on a basis consistent with the disclosure in the Group accounts.

 

The Group's operations are managed and reported by key market segments as follows:

· UK

· EAA (Europe, Africa and Asia)

· MENA (Middle East & North Africa including Turkey)

Central overheads previously included within segments in the prior period, have been identified separately. Comparative figures have been restated accordingly.

 

The segmental results for the six months ended 30 September 2014 are as follows:

UK

 

EAA

MENA

Group

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Revenues including share of joint venture revenues

40,036

15,612

7,537

63,185

Less share of joint venture revenues

-

(891)

-

(891)

40,036

14,721

7,537

62,294

Result

Operating profit before central overheads and separately disclosed items

2,708

712

631

4,051

Central overheads

(1,995)

Operating profit before separately disclosed items

2,708

712

631

2,056

Separately disclosed items (Note 4)

(1,740)

(417)

(166)

(2,323)

Operating profit/(loss)

968

295

465

(267)

Finance costs

(149)

Loss before tax

(416)

Tax

51

Loss for the period

(365)

Profit attributable to non controlling interests

66

Loss attributable to the owners of the parent

(431)

 

5. Segmental information (continued)

 

The segmental results for the six months ended 30 September 2013 are as follows:

UK

Restated

 

EAA

Restated

MENA

Restated

Group

Restated

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

 

Revenues including share of joint venture revenues

35,379

19,761

8,750

63,890

Less share of joint venture revenues

-

-

-

-

35,379

19,761

8,750

63,890

Result

Operating profit excluding central overheads and separately disclosed items

2,248

1,173

231

3,652

Central overheads

(1,945)

Operating profit before separately disclosed items

2,248

1,173

231

1,707

Separately disclosed items (Note 4)

(1,821)

(224)

(109)

(2,154)

Operating profit/(loss)

427

949

122

(447)

Finance costs

(296)

Loss before tax

(743)

Tax

(219)

Loss attributable to equity shareholders

(962)

Loss attributable to non controlling interests

(3)

Loss attributable to the owners of the parent

(959)

 

6. Finance costs

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

 

Six months

ended 30

September 2013

Year ended

31 March

 2014

£'000

£'000

£'000

Interest on bank loans, guarantees and overdrafts

35

131

220

Interest on bonds

109

153

339

Interest related to defined benefit scheme

5

12

18

Total finance costs

149

296

577

 

 

7. Tax

The tax charge for the period has been calculated by applying the Directors' best estimate of the effective tax rate for the year with consideration to the geographic location of the profits, to the loss before tax for the period.

8. (Loss)/earnings per share

The calculation of the basic and diluted (loss)/earnings per share is based on the following data:

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

 

Six months

ended 30

September 2013

Year ended

31 March

 2014

£'000

£'000

£'000

Earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted (loss)/earnings per share being profit for the year

(431)

(959)

2,053

Adjustment relating to separately disclosed items (see note 4)

2,323

2,154

2,452

Tax impact of separately disclosed items (see note 4)

(32)

-

-

Earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted adjusted earnings per share

1,860

1,195

4,505

 

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

Six months ended 30

September

2013

Year ended

31 March

 2014

Number

Number

Number

Number of shares

Weighted average number of shares for basic earnings per share

64,737,804

64,533,176

64,596,169

Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares:

Share options

-

-

6,316,301

Weighted average number of shares for diluted earnings per share

64,737,804

64,533,176

70,912,470

(Loss)/earnings per share

Basic

(0.7p)

(1.5p)

3.2p

Diluted

(0.7p)

(1.5p)

2.9p

Adjusted earnings per share

Basic

2.9p

1.8p

7.0p

Diluted

2.6p

1.7p

6.4p

In the six months to 30 September 2014 the number of shares used for the calculation of diluted adjusted earnings per share has been increased by 6,105,991 (2013: 5,802,640). For periods where the Group was loss making, dilution has no effect on loss per share.

 

9. Dividends

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

Six months

ended 30

September 2013

Year ended

31 March

 2014

£'000

£'000

£'000

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period:

Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2014 of 0.5p (2013: nil) per share

-

-

332

Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2015 of 0.3p (2013: nil) per share

200

-

-

200

-

332

The interim dividend was approved on 1 December 2014 and as such has not been included as a liability in these financial statements.

The final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2014 was approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 23 September 2014 and was paid on 3 November 2014. This has been included as a liability in these financial statements but was not recognised in the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2014.

 

10. Business Combinations

In September 2014, WYG Environment Planning and Transport Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, acquired 100% of the share capital of Alliance Environment and Planning Limited, a specialist planning practice with offices in Guildford, London, Birmingham and Bedfordshire.

The following table sets out the provisional fair value of the net assets acquired and the resulting goodwill:

Carrying value pre acquisition £'000

Fair value adjustments £'000

Total fair value £'000

Fixed assets

63

-

63

Cash

694

-

694

WIP

175

-

175

Trade and other receivables

616

-

616

Trade and other payables

(712)

-

(712)

836

-

836

Goodwill

749

Customer relationships

1,567

Order book

48

3,200

 

Satisfied by:

Cash

1,600

Deferred consideration

1,600

3,200

 

 

11. Goodwill

£'000

Cost

At 1 April 2013

63,383

Arising on acquisition of business

140

At 30 September 2013

63,523

At 1 April 2014

64,534

Arising on acquisition of business (note 10)

749

At 30 September 2014

65,283

Accumulated impairment losses

At 1 April 2013, 1 October 2013

(51,738)

At 1 April 2014 and 30 September 2014

(51,738)

Net book value

At 30 September 2014

13,545

At 30 September 2013

11,785

Goodwill is tested for impairment at the interim and financial year end reporting dates and whenever there are indications that it may have suffered an impairment. Goodwill is considered impaired to the extent that its carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, which is the higher of the value in use and the fair value less costs to sell of the cash generating unit to which it is allocated. In the impairment tests of goodwill performed, the recoverable amount was determined based on the value in use calculations.

Management based the value in use calculations on cash flow forecasts derived from the most recent financial forecasts approved by the Board including certain sensitivities, in which the principal assumptions were those regarding sales growth and changes in direct costs.

Following the review at 30 September 2014, management decided that no further impairment was necessary.

 

 

12. Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets

Property, plant and

equipment

Intangible

assets

£'000

£'000

Six months ended 30 September 2013

Opening net book amount as at 1 April 2013

2,361

4,610

Additions

279

104

Arising on acquisition of business

-

1,030

Depreciation and amortisation

(578)

(747)

Exchange differences

15

6

Closing net book amount as at 30 September 2013

2,077

5,003

Six months ended 30 September 2014

Opening net book amount as at 1 April 2014

2,242

4,802

Additions

836

201

Arising on acquisition of business

63

1,615

Depreciation and amortisation

(665)

(837)

Exchange differences

(14)

(22)

Closing net book amount as at 30 September 2014

2,462

5,759

 

13. Provisions, liabilities and other charges

Claims

Redundancy

Vacant

leasehold

Total

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

At 1 April 2013

4,542

1,302

11,973

17,817

Additional provisions

241

-

-

241

Utilised during the period

(48)

(972)

(1,129)

(2,149)

Exchange impact

-

-

17

17

At 30 September 2013

4,735

330

10,861

15,926

At 1 April 2014

4,395

-

7,589

11,984

Utilised during the period

(569)

-

(1,161)

(1,730)

Exchange impact

-

-

119

119

At 30 September 2014

3,826

-

6,547

10,373

 

 

 

13. Provisions, liabilities and other charges (continued)

 

Claims

 

Provisions are made for current and estimated obligations in respect of claims made by contractors and the general public relating to accident or other insurable risks as a result of the business activities of the Group.

 

Redundancy

 

Provision is made for current estimated future costs of redundancy and ex gratia payments to be made where this has been communicated to those employees concerned.

 

Vacant leasehold properties

 

The Group has a number of vacant leasehold properties, with the majority of the head leases expiring within the next five years. Provision has been made for the residual lease commitments together with other outgoings, after taking into account assumptions relating to later periods of vacancy.

14. Financial liabilities

30

September

2014

 

30

September 2013

31 March

 2014

£'000

£'000

£'000

Current

Bank overdrafts

138

1,134

662

138

1,134

662

Non-current

Redemption liability

484

395

454

484

395

454

Financial liabilities are repayable as follows:

On demand or within one year

138

1,134

662

Greater than one year

484

395

454

622

1,529

1,116

 

 

 

The redemption liability relates to the discounted fair value of an option to purchase the remaining 25% of Arndale 22 Limited.

 

 

15. Cash generated from operations

Six months

ended 30

September

2014

 

Six months ended 30

September

2013

 

 

Year ended

31 March

 2014

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

(Loss)/profit from operations

(267)

(447)

2,354

Adjustments for:

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

665

578

1,205

Amortisation of intangible assets

837

747

1,594

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

-

-

16

Share options expense

1,704

1,600

3,650

Operating cash flows before movements in working capital

2,939

2,478

8,819

Increase in inventories

(152)

(6,309)

(1,666)

(Increase)/decrease in receivables

(3,118)

3,924

3,618

Decrease in payables

(3,559)

(1,461)

(10,858)

Cash used in operations

(3,890)

(1,368)

(87)

 

 

 

16. Analysis of net cash

At 1 April

2013

Cash flows

Other

non-cash

items

At 30

September

2013

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Cash and cash equivalents

18,644

(2,847)

-

15,797

Cash in restricted access accounts

(3,806)

496

-

(3,310)

Unrestricted net cash

14,838

(2,351)

-

12,487

At 1 April

2014

Cash flows

Other

non-cash

items

At 30

September

2014

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Cash and cash equivalents

15,195

(6,451)

(375)

8,369

Cash in restricted access accounts

(2,423)

535

91

(1,797)

Unrestricted net cash

12,772

(5,916)

(284)

6,572

Cash and cash equivalents include £8,507,000 cash (2013: £16,931,000) and £138,000 overdrafts (2013: £1,134,000).

Restricted cash relates to restricted access accounts in WYG International Limited and cash held in joint operations.

Other non-cash movements represent currency exchange differences.

 

17. Related party transactions

There have been no changes in the nature of related party transactions as described in the 2014 Annual Report and Accounts and there have been no new related party transactions which have had a material effect on the financial position or performance of the Group in the period ended 30 September 2014.

18. Availability of the Half Year Report

Copies of the Half Year Report can be obtained from the Company's registered office at Arndale Court, Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds LS6 2UJ, and on the Company's website: www.wyg.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
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