19th Jul 2005 08:40
Speedy Hire PLC19 July 2005 19 July 2005 Speedy Hire Plc CHAIRMAN'S AGM STATEMENT At the Annual General Meeting to be held at 2.30pm today Chairman David Walliswill give the following update on the Company's progress since the start of thecurrent financial year. "I am pleased to report that the new financial year has started well with firstquarter turnover increasing by 23.8%. This reflects the impact of acquisitionsmade in the previous year and the benefit of Easter falling in March. Like forlike tool hire turnover has advanced 14%, with underlying growth of 10% afterexcluding the impact of the early Easter. This has resulted in a furtherincrease in Speedy Hire's market share, despite the fact that there is someevidence the smaller tradesman is experiencing a reduced level of activity inthe wake of the slowdown in consumer expenditure. Profitability is in line withour expectations and our major customers continue to report strong order bookswell into the future. On 22 April 2005 we announced the acquisition of The Cabin Company Limited, asupplier of temporary accommodation, from Birse Group plc. This has helpedraise the Group's profile in the civil engineering sector and secured a fiveyear agreement with Birse for the supply of temporary accommodation. On 1 July2005 Speedy Hire announced the acquisition of the business and certain assets ofMJ Gleeson Group's internal hire operation. As part of the acquisition MJGleeson also entered into a five year exclusive supply agreement with Speedy toprovide hire services to all MJG Group companies. In addition we have opened 5 greenfield depots this year. I would like to pay tribute to John Brown, the founder of Speedy Hire who isretiring from the Board today. Over the last 28 years, John's vision and drivecreated a powerful and dynamic business which has generated significant valuefor its shareholders. Importantly, he has attracted, nurtured and developed afirst class team to enable the business to continue to build upon this success.We have retained access to John's wealth of knowledge and experience by securinghis services as a consultant for the next three years. I am certain shareholdersand all Speedy Hire's people will join with the Board in wishing John a long andhappy retirement. Steve Corcoran, who took over as Chief Executive at the start of the financialyear is building on John's heritage with a broader hire offer. This is provingvery successful in driving the ongoing growth of Speedy Hire. We have had agood start to the year and look forward to making further progress in the yearahead." For further information: Speedy Hire Plc gcg hudson sandlerSteve Corcoran, Chief Executive James BenjaminNeil O'Brien, Finance Director Tel: 020 7796 4133Tel: 01942 720000 Website: www.speedyhire.plc.uk Notes to Editors: Speedy Hire is a leading provider of tool and equipment hire services to UKcontractors and builders, industry, utilities and the public sector, operatingfrom over 300 depots throughout the country. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Speedy Hire