16th Oct 2014 07:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - Speedy Hire PLC Thursday appointed a new chairman and said its finance director is leaving, while guiding that a strong performance in the first half means it is on track to meet expectations for the full year.
The equipment and plant hire company said Jan Åstrand will join its board on November 1 and will become the new chairman of the business on November 11, taking over from Ishbel Macpherson.
Åstrand is currently the chairman of easyHotel PLC and is a non-executive director on the board of FTSE 250-listed Northgate PLC.
As Åstrand was appointed, the company also said Finance Director Lynn Krige has stepped down from the board with immediate effect. The group said the process of identifying a successor to Krige is already underway. Group Financial Controller Ian Scapens and Group Assets and Information Director Tracey Atkin will take over Krige's duties on an interim basis, Speedy said.
Speedy also issued a trading update for the first half, saying it has seen a good overall start to the year and saying it is on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations as the positive start has continued into the second half.
The group said its UK & Ireland business performed well in the first half, with activity levels in the market "significantly higher" year-on-year. It expects revenues from the business to grow 11% in the period, backed by a strong performance for its Partnered Services arm.
Its International arm has also posted a jump in revenue in the period, up 31%, though it said the positive impact on revenue from the restructuring of its Middle East arm was taking longer than expected to deliver profitability.
Speedy will post its results for the half-year to September 30 on November 11.
Speedy shares were up 0.5% to 64.09 pence Thursday morning.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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