Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 5728K

Stobart Group Limited

26 June 2014

 

Stobart Group Limited

26 June 2014

STOBART GROUP LIMITED

('Stobart' or 'the Group')

Interim Management Statement

Stobart Group, the infrastructure and support services group, issues the following Interim Management Statement - covering the period from the commencement of the new financial year on 1 March 2014 to date - to coincide with its Annual General Meeting ('AGM'), which will be held today.

We have had a busy and productive start to the year, with the partial realisation of the Transport & Distribution division completing in April. We subsequently used some of the gross cash proceeds of £195.6m to repay fully the £100m loan with M&G Investment Management. We have since returned £31.1m cash to shareholders by the purchase of 23.6m of the Company's own shares in market transactions representing approximately 6.7% of the Company's issued share capital. With good cash realisations from our property portfolio in the last year, we repaid in March £68.1m of the £74.9m GE property loan. We are currently in a net cash position after these transactions.

The Group is now operating an infrastructure and support services business operating through five divisions: Infrastructure, Energy, Aviation, Rail and Investments. Management has been reorganised to lead these divisions with particular focus on driving growth and profitability in Energy and Aviation, where the group sees significant potential.

In the Energy and Aviation divisions, biomass tonnages and passenger numbers respectively are ahead year on year. New business starting in this period includes supplying the Port Talbot biomass plant and two Flybe aircraft, operated by Stobart Air, becoming based at London Southend airport.

In our Infrastructure division we have realised proceeds of £4.4m from disposals of two commercial properties and we expect to continue to make healthy realisations of properties, although the timing of disposals may result in lumpy profits and cash flows.

The Group remains confident of delivering growth and good returns for shareholders over the coming years as it continues its strategy of investment, optimisation and realisation.

We look forward to welcoming to the Board on 1 July 2014, Richard Butcher as an Executive Director and John Coombs and John Garbutt as Non-Executive Directors. As previously announced, Michael Kayser and Paul Orchard-Lisle stand down from the Board today, with the Board's thanks and good wishes.

Stobart Group expects to announce its results for the six months to 31 August 2014 on 23 October 2014.

Enquiries:

Stobart Group	[phone]
Andrew Tinkler, Chief Executive Officer
Ben Whawell, Chief Financial Officer
Lansons Communications
Tony Langham ([e-mail])	[phone] / [phone]
Anna Schirmer ([e-mail])	[phone]
i-nfluence Associates	[phone]
Stuart Dyble/James Andrew

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