20th Aug 2020 15:09
(Alliance News) - Van Elle Holdings PLC on Thursday posted a swing to loss for financial 2020 but highlighted encouraging levels of trading activity in the new financial year.
Van Elle also noted its chair stepped down.
Shares in the geotechnical engineering company were trading 1.4% lower at 36.50 pence each on Thursday in London.
For its financial year ended April 30, Van Elle posted pretax loss of GBP2.2 million, swinging from a profit of GBP4.0 million the year prior. This was as revenue fell 4.6% year-on-year to GBP84.4 million from GBP88.5 million.
The company blamed the deterioration in its performance on a downturn in the wider construction market as a result of Brexit uncertainty, which was further exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak in the final six weeks of the year. Majority of customer sites closed in late March and throughout April, reducing revenues by around GBP10 million compared to pre-Covid expectations.
No dividend was declared in efforts to preserve cash as the markets recover from the pandemic. For comparison, for financial 2019, it declared a dividend of 2.00 pence a share.
Separately, Van Elle said Frank Nelson - who joined the board as non-executive director & chair designate on July 1 - will step into the role of chair, taking over from Adrian Barden who will step down on August 31. Senior Independent Non-Executive Director Robin Williams will also step down on August 31.
Looking ahead, Barden said: "Financial 2021 has started encouragingly, with activity levels recovering slightly ahead of our expectations and we look forward, subject to no further significant business interruptions arising from any further Covid-19 disruption, to returning to full operational capacity by the end of the third quarter of financial 2021."
"Whilst the majority of customer sites have safely re-opened and trading for the first quarter of financial 2021 was encouraging in the circumstances, the exact trajectory of the wider industry recovery remains uncertain. The board is mindful that this market uncertainty will likely persist well into the current financial year," he added.
As at the end of April, Van Elle had cash of GBP12.2 million
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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