Trading Update

 28 April 2016

Berendsen plc

 Trading Update

Berendsen plc ("the Group'') today issues a Trading Update for the period from 1 January to 31 March 2016 ("first quarter''), prior to its Annual General Meeting today at 11.00am.

Trading in the first quarter was in line with management's expectations. Group revenue was up 3.6% at constant exchange rates and before acquisitions ("underlying"). Reported revenue benefited from the strengthening of the currencies in which we operate, resulting in revenue growth for the Group of 6% compared to last year. Underlying Group operating profit was ahead of the equivalent period last year.

Our Workwear and Facility businesses grew at close to 5% on an underlying basis and there was also good growth in our Hospitality businesses, particularly in Scandinavia. Our Healthcare businesses saw lower revenue in Germany and Austria and lower volumes than expected in the UK, which held back growth in the Business Line.

We are making good progress with the implementation of our strategy, focusing on the completion of our Business Line model and building capabilities. These investments have impacted the operating margin in the short term as expected. The Business Line team for Hospitality is now fully in place and our new operational blueprint for Hospitality is nearing completion. In April Christophe Martin became leader of our Healthcare business. Christophe joins us from Johnson and Johnson and brings significant experience of growing businesses in the healthcare sector. Our business improvement plan for shared services has been launched, we have strengthened our LEAN capability and we expect to have our business development group fully in place in the coming quarter.

We are prioritising capital allocation to the significant opportunities we see in Workwear and Cleanroom in line with our strategy. We are making good progress with our CL2000 investments at four sites in the UK and Germany, extending capacity in other CL 2000 sites and planning for further investment is in place. As a result capital expenditure in the quarter was higher than last year, but our free cash flow was strong and we expect to convert between 75% and 90% of our profit after tax into free cash flow for the year as a whole. Our net debt is slightly higher than at the start of the year.

The Group has made a good start to the current year with trading in line with management's expectations. As previously guided, the Board expects to achieve a further year of good underlying progress.

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Note:

1. Berendsen plc is a focused European textile maintenance business with leading positions in most of the countries in which it operates. As a focused business we are able to mobilise our resources to drive our strategies in our core area of expertise.

2. All financial information sourced from management accounts; operating profit and earnings per share stated before exceptional items and amortisation of customer contracts and intellectual property rights.

3. Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that express management's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the Group's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results.