Half Yearly Report

RNS Number : 6713S

Slingsby(H.C.)Plc

26 September 2014

 

26 September 2014

H C Slingsby plc ("the Company")

Report for the half year ended 30 June 2014

Statement by the Chairman

As reported in my statement included in the Annual Report and Accounts for 2013, sales in the first three months of 2014 were down by 11 per cent on the comparable period last year. There has been only marginal improvement since, with sales for the six months down by 8 per cent on last year.

However, the radical restructuring of the business has been completed as planned with a subsequent significant reduction in overheads, the benefits of which have only become fully effective from the half year. With restructuring expenditure disclosed as an exceptional item of £193,000, the pre-tax loss for the period was £381,000 compared to the pre-tax loss for the six months ended 30 June 2013 of £32,000.

The reduced overheads resulted in a small pre-tax profit for the month of July, but August was particularly quiet. Trading in September has returned to the level of management's expectations.

The deficit on the Company's defined benefit pension scheme, which is now closed to future accrual, reduced to £7.4m as measured in accordance with IAS 19R (31 December 2013: £8.1m).  The improvement is largely due to the use of new census data in the results as at 30 June 2014 and a decrease in assumed inflation which have resulted in a decrease in the value of the liabilities.  Other contributory factors were the effect of the recovery plan contributions paid into the scheme and investment returns being higher than assumed.  These factors were offset by the effect of a decrease in the discount rate. The finance expense associated with the pension scheme in the Income Statement fell to £182,000 on IAS 19R (six months ended 30 June 2013: £206,000).  The reduction in finance expense is mainly due to an increase in the expected return on the scheme's assets.

Our cash position remains strong and the Board is confident the Company is now well placed to compete in an increasingly contested and dynamic market. The Board has therefore declared an interim dividend of 2p per share (six months ended 30 June 2013: 2p) which will be paid on 2 January 2015 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 5 December 2014.

J R Waterhouse

Non-Executive Chairman

For further information please contact:

H C Slingsby plc
Dominic Slingsby, Managing Director	01274 535 030
Ray Hudson, Financial Director
Sanlam Securities UK Limited
David Worlidge	020 7628 2200

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Income Statement for the half year ended 30 June 2014

		Half year	Half year	Year
		Ended	Ended	Ended
		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000
Turnover		6,371	6,913	13,965
		---------	---------	---------
Operating (loss)/profit before exceptional item		(10)	155	137
Exceptional item	2	(193)	-	-
		---------	---------	---------
Operating (loss)/profit		(203)	155	137
Finance income		4	19	26
Finance expense		(182)	(206)	(412)
		--------	--------	--------
Loss before taxation		(381)	(32)	(249)
Taxation	3	49	6	154
		--------	--------	--------
Loss for the period attributable to equity shareholders		(332) --------	(26) --------	(95) --------
Basic and diluted loss per share		(33.2p)	(2.6p)	(9.5p)
		--------	--------	--------
Interim/Total dividend per share		2.0p	2.0p	12.0p
		--------	--------	--------

The results set out above derive entirely from continuing operations.

The above unaudited condensed consolidated income statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Expense for the half year ended 30 June 2014

		Half year	Half year	Year
		Ended	Ended	Ended
		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss:
Remeasurements of post-employment benefit obligations		553	590	1,641
Movement in deferred tax relating to retirement benefit obligation		(111)	(136)	(623)
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss
Exchange adjustment		(10)	14	6
		--------	--------	--------
Other comprehensive expense		432	468	1,024
Loss for the period		(332)	(26)	(95)
		--------	--------	--------
Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to equity shareholders		100	442	929
		--------	--------	--------

The above unaudited consolidated statement of comprehensive income and expense should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2014

		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		5,997	6,251	6,131
Intangible asset		543	379	594
Deferred tax asset		808	1,293	910
		---------	---------	--------
		7,348	7,923	7,635
		---------	---------	--------
Current assets
Inventories		1,854	2,089	1,897
Trade and other receivables		2,195	2,258	2,401
Cash and cash equivalents		2,037	2,767	2,325
Current tax asset		40	-	28
		---------	---------	---------
		6,126	7,114	6,651
		---------	---------	---------
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		(2,357)	(2,636)	(2,503)
Derivative financial instruments		(21)	-	(26)
Current tax liabilities		-	(16)	-
		---------	---------	---------
		2,378	(2,652)	(2,529)
		---------	---------	---------
Net current assets		3,748	4,462	4,122
		---------	---------	---------
Non-current liabilities
Retirement benefit obligation		(7,428)	(9,184)	(8,069)
		---------	---------	---------
Net assets		3,668	3,201	3,688
		---------	---------	---------
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital		250	250	250
Retained earnings		3,407	2,922	3,417
Translation reserve		11	29	21
		---------	---------	---------
Total equity		3,668	3,201	3,688
		---------	---------	---------

The above unaudited consolidated balance sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity

	Share Capital £'000	Retained earnings £'000	Translation reserve £'000	Total equity £'000
At 1 January 2013	250	2,684	15	2,949
Total comprehensive income recognised for the period	-	428	14	442
Dividends paid	-	(190)	-	(190)
	---------	---------	---------	---------
At 30 June 2013	250	2,922	29	3,201
	---------	---------	---------	---------
At 1 January 2014	250	3,417	21	3,688
Total comprehensive income recognised for the period	-	110	(10)	100
Dividends paid	-	(120)	-	(120)
	---------	---------	---------	---------
At 30 June 2014	250	3,407	11	3,668
	---------	---------	---------	---------

The above unaudited consolidated statement of changes in shareholders' equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.                                                                               

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the half year ended 30 June 2014

		Half year	Half year	Year
		Ended	Ended	Ended
		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash (used by)/generated from operations	4	(260)	155	166
UK corporation tax refunded		28	-	-
		---------	---------	---------
Cash (used by)/generated from operating activities		(232)	155	166
		---------	---------	---------
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received		9	19	44
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(27)	(228)	(64)
Purchase of intangible assets		(26)	-	(484)
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment		18	11	11
		---------	---------	---------
Net cash outflow from investing activities		(26)	(198)	(493)
		---------	---------	---------
Cash flows from financing activities
Equity dividends paid		(20)	(40)	(190)
		---------	---------	---------
Net cash outflow from financing activities		(20)	(40)	(190)
		---------	---------	---------
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(278)	(83)	(517)
Opening cash and cash equivalents		2,325	2,836	2,836
Exchange differences		(10)	14	6
		---------	---------	---------
Closing cash and cash equivalents		2,037	2,767	2,325
		---------	---------	---------

The above unaudited consolidated statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Notes to the Interim Report for the half year ended 30 June 2014

1.	Interim Financial Information
	The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial information does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The interim financial statements, which are unaudited and have not been reviewed by the Company's auditors, have been prepared in accordance with the policies set out in the 2013 Annual Report and Accounts. The comparative figures for the year ended 31 December 2013 do not constitute full financial statements and have been abridged from the full accounts for the year ended on that date, on which the auditors gave an unqualified report, which did not contain an emphasis of matter paragraph and did not contain any statement under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006. The 2013 accounts have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.  The Company has chosen not to adopt IAS 34 'Interim Financial Statements' but has adopted IAS 19R: 'Amendments to IAS 19 Employee benefits' in preparing the financial information.
2.	Exceptional item	Half year	Half year	Year
		Ended	Ended	Ended
		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
		£'000	£'000	£'000
	Redundancy costs	193	-	-
		----------	---------	---------
	These restructuring costs include salaries in lieu of notice, redundancy pay, holiday pay, social security costs and related legal expenditure.
3.	Taxation	Half year	Half year	Year
		Ended	Ended	Ended
		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
		£'000	£'000	£'000
	Current tax	(9)	4	(40)
	Deferred tax	(40)	(10)	(114)
		---------	---------	---------
		(49)	(6)	(154)
		---------	---------	---------
	.
4.	Cash generated from Operations
		Half year	Half year	Year
		Ended	Ended	Ended
		30/06/14 (Unaudited)	30/06/13 (Unaudited)	31/12/13 (Audited)
		£'000	£'000	£'000
	Loss before tax	(381)	(32)	(249)
	Net finance costs	178	187	386
	Depreciation and amortisation	216	187	369
	Profit on sale of property, plant and equipment	(3)	(1)	(1)
	Loss on disposal of intangible assets	-	-	12
	Pension deficit contributions	(270)	(270)	(540)
	Decrease in inventories	43	181	373
	Decrease in trade and other receivables	200	185	23
	Decrease in trade and other payables	(243)	(282)	(207)
		---------	---------	---------
	Cash (used by)/generated from operating activities	(260)	155	166
		---------	---------	---------

Dividends payable of £100,000 were included in trade and other payables at 30 June 2014 (2013: £150,000).

5.	Availability of Interim Report The Interim Report will not be sent to shareholders but will be available shortly on the Company's website www.slingsby.com.

 

END

 

 

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