Eddie Stobart Logistics plc

 

("Eddie Stobart")

 

Full Year Results 2017

 

Eddie Stobart announces its full year results for the 12 months ended 30 November 2017.

Underlying Results*	2017	2016	Statutory Results	2017	2016
Revenue 1	£623.9m	£549.0m	Revenue	£623.9m	£570.2m
EBIT 2	£48.5m	£41.3m	Operating profit	£26.6m	£26.8m
EBIT Margin	7.8%	7.5%
EBITDA 3	£55.3m	£47.4m
EBITDA Margin	8.9%	8.6%
Adjusted Profit before tax 4	£37.8m	£24.0m	Profit before tax	£9.9m	£11.2m
Adjusted Free cash 5	£30.0m	£28.8m	Net cash from operating activities	£18.9m	£17.7m
Adjusted Earnings per share 6	9.8p	7.9p	Earnings per share	1.2p	3.3p
			Proposed dividend per share	5.8p	-
			Net debt	£109.5m	£165.5m

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

¹ Underlying Revenue is defined as Revenue less revenue from the exited Ireland retail segment.

² Underlying EBIT is defined as Profit from operating activities before exceptional items, amortisation of acquired intangibles, Group's share of profit from equity accounted investees, employee share costs funded by previous parent holding group, investor and management charges, including the gain arising on lease agreements.

³ Underlying EBITDA is defined as Underlying EBIT before depreciation of property, plant and equipment.

⁴ Adjusted profit before tax is defined as profit or loss before tax adding back exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles and including the gain arising on lease agreements.

 ⁵ Adjusted Free Cash Flow is defined as Cash generated from operating activities less purchase of property, plant and equipment adding back proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment and adding back income taxes paid and the cash impact of exceptional items.

⁶ Adjusted Earnings per Share is defined as Profit after tax adding back exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles and including the gain arising on lease agreements divided by the weighted average basic and diluted number of shares in issue at 30 November 2017 (see note 8).

 

Group highlights:

·      Full year results in line with expectations

·      Strong underlying revenue* growth

§ Renewed c.£41 million of existing contracts; secured additional £89 million of new volume with existing and new customers

§ Significant revenue growth within Manufacturing, Industrial and Bulk (MIB), (+37%) and
E-commerce (+111%)

·      Completed acquisitions of iForce, Speedy Freight and Logistic People during the period, broadening Group capabilities with all performing to expectations

·      Warehousing storage capacity increased by c.17% across a number of new sites adding further capacity

·      Invested in technology solutions to enhance operational efficiency, support business growth and simplify back office processes

·      Continue to invest in recruiting and upskilling our existing employees through a broad range of courses delivered at our Training Academy in Warrington and our new second facility in the Midlands

·      Final dividend proposed of 4.4 pence per share making a total of 5.8 pence per share for the full year in line with our progressive dividend policy

 

Chief Executive Alex Laffey commented:

"We have made good progress in implementing our strategy of becoming a leading provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions. This has been demonstrated by our performance over the past 12 months, especially within our two key growth sectors, Manufacturing, Industrial and Bulk, and E-commerce.

 

Overall we are pleased with our progress in 2017.  The new financial year has started well and in line with the Board's expectations."

 

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

 

Enquiries:

Eddie Stobart Logistics plc	via FTI Consulting
Alex Laffey, Chief Executive Officer
Damien Harte, Chief Financial Officer
FTI Consulting LLP	(0)20 3727 1340
Nick Hasell/ Alex Le May/ Matthew O'Keeffe
www.fticonsulting.com
Cenkos Securities Plc (Nomad & Joint Broker)	(0)20 7397 8928
Nicholas Wells/Harry Hargreaves
www.cenkos.com
Berenberg (Joint Broker)	(0)20 3207 7800
Chris Bowman/ Toby Flaux/ James Brooks
[email protected]
www.berenberg.com

 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Overview

Having joined the Board as Chairman of Eddie Stobart Logistics in April 2017, I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome all our new shareholders to the business. Notwithstanding the changes in ownership in recent years, the business has continued to maintain its traditional high standards of customer service and integrity, as well as develop new service offerings and expand in new sectors.

People and Board

In addition to my appointment, Christopher Casey and Stephen Harley joined as Non-executive Directors, bringing strong financial and operational expertise to the Board. Our Board is compact and the Directors have an extensive range of skills. We are able to remain tightly focused on the continued development of our business, under the outstanding leadership of our Chief Executive Officer, Alex Laffey. We can also leverage opportunities as and when they come, responding quickly and efficiently.

I have been particularly impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of all our staff, who have been instrumental to ensuring we deliver our service promise to our customers.

It is really important to me that all our people receive the right training to do their jobs effectively. We will continue to invest by offering training courses across a range of disciplines, allowing employees at all levels to expand their knowledge and skills.

Financial performance

Eddie Stobart performed strongly in 2017, achieving significant growth and securing a number of new contract wins. We have leveraged our warehousing and transportation model and completed a number of successful acquisitions, all of which adds to our skills and capabilities and positions us well across high growth markets.

The core business of transport and logistics remains competitive. We pride ourselves on differentiating our quality of service levels, which is critical to our customers' operations, and providing tailored offerings which contribute to their efficiency. Our profitability is enhanced by industry leading levels of utilisation and skilful procurement and management of the assets used in our business .

Our overall performance in the year gives us confidence that we will continue to make progress against our growth strategy in the year ahead. Continued strong cash generation enabled the Group to pay an interim dividend of £5.0m (1.4 pence per share) during the year. The Board is recommending a final dividend of £15.8m (4.4 pence per share), making a total of £20.8m, (5.8 pence per share) for the 2016/17 financial year.

Outlook

The new financial year has started well and in line with the Board's expectations. I am encouraged by our continued strong operational and customer performance. Based on the performance of the businesses we have acquired in 2017 and major contract wins, supported by a strong new business pipeline, the Board is confident of further growth in the year ahead.

In terms of the wider business environment, we continue to see encouraging trends in all sectors with new and existing customers considering outsourcing, so that they can concentrate on their core operations and customer offerings. We have also seen further consolidation in the logistics sector in 2017 and early signs indicate that the trend will continue, providing further opportunities for growth.

Whilst our existing business in continental Europe is small, we have ambitions to develop this, replicating our successful model in the UK. We will be keeping the Brexit position under review but, to date, we have seen no significant impact from Brexit on our business.

Finally, I would like to thank all employees, customers and wider stakeholders for their continued support, hard work and valuable contribution .

 

Philip H Swatman

Chairman

 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENT

Group results

Our group revenues have increased by 9.4% to £623.9 million for the year to 30 November 2017 (2016: £570.2 million). Underlying EBIT* has increased by 17.4% to £48.5 million (2016: £41.3 million) whilst operating profit decreased by 1% to £26.6m (2016: £26.8m).

I am extremely pleased with the significant progress we've made in our first year as an AIM listed company in terms of delivering our commitments and strategy in our targeted sectors of Retail, Consumer, Manufacturing, Industrial and Bulk and E-commerce.

Effective implementation of our business strategy has been key to our success and I am proud of what we've delivered through the platform of our unique network and consulting-led approach.

Eddie Stobart focuses on providing cost effective innovative logistics solutions to our customers across the supply chain. In my 30 years within the retail industry, I have become acutely aware of the importance of building and developing close working relationships with customers.

We invest in our customer relationships to ensure we deliver high levels of customer service and provide innovative solutions in a rapidly developing market.

During the year, we have continued to grow, through new customer wins and renewals of contracts with long-term existing customers in the four key sectors in which we operate.

In April we acquired iForce, an e-fulfilment specialist, providing a comprehensive e-commerce offer to a wide range of retailers.

We also acquired control of Speedy Freight a same day business-to-business freight service, through the purchase of 50% of its shares. Both of these acquisitions have broadened our service offering and capabilities, enabling us to provide new services to existing customers, as well as win new customers. As a result of these acquisitions we have also benefitted from a number of cross selling opportunities.

To support our development within our key strategic growth sectors, we have recruited new people into the business to help deliver excellent service levels to our customers.

We are also investing in industry-leading technology and equipment, needed to continue to provide advanced supply chain operations to our blue-chip customers in the rapidly developing logistics market.

Operational performance

In order to deliver growth, our operations team has had to flex and continually review the network, ensuring we are able to deliver the high levels of service that our customers demand.

In addition, all of our people have needed to develop new skills and embrace changes in the way we operate, as we simplify ways of working and at the same time, take on new and exciting contracts which demand more complex solutions.

The acquisition of iForce brought new customers in the E-commerce sector, contributing to our significant increase in revenue of 111% to £103.4 million in the year (2016: £49.1 million).

We have seen good growth in our more established Retail operations, where we are now working with the majority of the UK's top five retailers.

Our MIB sector is now our largest segment and has seen significant growth during the year of 37% to £182.0 million (2016: £132.7million). This has been delivered through a combination of the full year effect of 2016 contract wins, as well as organic growth with existing new contract wins through the period.

Within Consumer, revenues in the year were down by 12% to £144.6 million (2016: £164.6 million). This was due to the loss of one significant contract, which I am now pleased to say has been successfully re-secured.

The business has achieved a number of high profile contracts wins during the year and we are proud of the new customer relationships we have recently started.

Adding to these wins, we are delighted to have renewed a number of contracts within our existing portfolio of blue-chip customers, worth an estimated £41 million and secured a further £89 million of new volume with new and existing customers.

 

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

Our financial highlights

 

Revenue		MIB revenue		E-commerce Revenue
£623.9m		£182.0m		£103.4m
+9%		+37%		+111%
Underlying EBIT *		Underlying EBIT margin *		Profit before tax
£48.5m		7.8%		£9.9m
+17%		+0.3ppts		-12%

 

Software and technology
We recognise the critical role that systems and technology play in the modern supply chain. In 2017 we made further investments in our technology capability across our business, both operational and back-office.

We continue to invest in the best available tools and systems to simplify ways of working, improve efficiency and ensure our people are well equipped to deliver service excellence.

It included the successful replacement of the in-vehicle systems and telemetry throughout the entire Eddie Stobart vehicle fleet, delivering industry-leading custom-designed equipment and software.

Our acquisition of iForce now allows us to include leading E-commerce software as part of our service offering. The iForce system offers customers a full end-to-end supply chain solution which is modular in design allowing customers to use all or part of the solutions on offer.

As we move forward, our ongoing system development programme is designed to streamline and simplify our operations, keeping us at the forefront of the industry in delivering service excellence and advanced end-to-end supply chain solutions.

Brand update

Since listing in April 2017, our brand licencing arrangement with Stobart Group has not changed, with the present financial arrangements ending in February 2020. We have options beyond 2020 to continue our licencing arrangements;

·        Pay £3 million a year for continued use of the licence

·        Purchase a perpetual licence for £15 million for use in the logistics market

·        Purchase a perpetual licence for £50 million for unrestricted use

The team at Eddie Stobart is passionate about our name and the leading brand. However, we also recognise that following the introduction of our new strategy and the recent acquisitions, we need to review our position given the broader range of supply chain services we now offer.

The Board is committed to reviewing all options and we will ensure we consider the views and interests of our people, customers and shareholders before deciding on the best way forward.

People

The commitment of the leadership team and the engagement and support from all employees has been key to our success in delivering our plans. I would like to thank the whole team for their enthusiasm and dedication, without which our listing on AIM and these results would not have been possible.

The market today is very different to a few years ago due to the shift in retail shopping habits and the advent of online shopping. This has resulted in our customers looking for more than the traditional support from their logistics providers.

Our staff are now required not only to understand their own roles within the organisation but also what is important to specific customers.

As a result, our people plan is focused on upskilling and developing our existing people, as well as attracting the best people across the industry to support our exciting growth agenda.

 

 

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

 

 

Our Training Academy has been recognised as a leading facility by customers, suppliers and industry advocates. Opening up our services supports our wider strategy to supply skilled drivers and warehouse operatives to businesses through their supply chain resource services.

In 2017, we expanded the commercial offering of our training to the wider market, opening up a second Training Academy just outside Rugby in the Midlands, complementing our existing facility in Warrington.

We are pleased with our progress this year and as a result, we are well placed to continue with our growth strategy in the year ahead.

 

Alex Laffey

Chief Executive

 

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER'S STATEMENT

Underlying revenue^* and underlying EBIT^* grew by 14% and 17% respectively

·        Strong underlying sales growth

·        E-commerce sales increased 111% and MIB sales were up 37%. This provides a healthy balance to our portfolio

·        Our growth in profitability is demonstrated by underlying EBIT* growth of 17% while underlying EBIT margin* improved from 7.5% to 7.8%

·        We are pleased by the progress made by the companies we have acquired. They are performing in line with expectations

·        Operating profit fell by 1%, principally due to non-recurring IPO costs

·        Significantly improved financial position with net debt reducing from £165.5m to £109.5m

·        Final dividend proposed of 4.4 pence per share making a total of 5.8 pence per share for the full year in line with our progressive dividend policy

Performance summary

Underlying Results *	2017	2016	Growth	Statutory Results	2017	2016	Growth
Revenue 1	£623.9m	£549.0m	13.6%	Revenue	£623.9m	£570.2m	9.4%
EBIT 2	£48.5m	£41.3m	17.4%	Operating profit	£26.6m	£26.8m	(0.7%)
EBIT %	7.8%	7.5%	0.3ppts
EBITDA 3	£55.3m	£47.4m	16.7%
EBITDA %	8.9%	8.6%	0.3ppts
Adjusted Profit before tax 4	£37.8m	£24.0m	57.5%	Profit before tax	£9.9m	£11.2m	(11.6%)
Adjusted Free cash 5	£30.0m	£28.8m	3.8%	Net cash from operating activities	£18.9m	£17.7m	41.3%
Adjusted Earnings per share 6	9.8p	7.9p	24.2%	Earnings per share	1.2p	3.3p	(63.6%)
				Proposed dividend per share	5.8p	-	-
				Net debt	£109.5m	£165.5m	(33.8%)

 

¹ Underlying Revenue is defined as Revenue less revenue from the exited Ireland retail segment.

² Underlying EBIT is defined as Profit from operating activities before exceptional items, amortisation of acquired intangibles, Group's share of profit from equity accounted investees, employee share costs funded by previous parent holding group, investor and management charges, including the gain arising on any lease agreements.

³ Underlying EBITDA is defined as Underlying EBIT before depreciation of property, plant and equipment.

⁴ Adjusted profit before tax is defined as profit or loss before tax adding back exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles and including the gain arising on lease agreements.

 ⁵ Adjusted Free Cash Flow is defined as Cash generated from operating activities less purchase of property, plant and equipment adding back proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment and adding back income taxes paid and the cash impact of exceptional items.

⁶ Adjusted Earnings per share is defined as Profit after tax adding back exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles and including the gain arising on lease agreements divided by the weighted average basic and diluted number of shares in issue at 30 November 2017 (see note 8).

Although statutory IFRS results should be used in accessing the performance of the Group, the Directors believe that a more relevant presentation of the financial results for the period is arrived at by excluding the impact of the exited Ireland Retail segment from the 2016 comparator and by adding back the share of profit from equity accounted investees, employee share scheme funded by the previous parent holding group, investor and management charges, amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items and including the gain arising on lease agreements.

In doing so we arrive at a more representative view of the underlying trading performance of the business during the year.

A full reconciliation of these measures to their statutory equivalent is set out in note 4 of the accounts and definitions for these measures can be found above.

Revenue Revenue by Sector	2017 £m	Weighting %		2016 £m	Weighting %	Growth %
Retail	168.6	27%		152.2	27%	11%
Consumer	144.6	23%		164.6	29%	(12%)
MIB	182.0	29%		132.7	23%	37%
E-Commerce	103.4	17%		49.1	9%	111%
Other	25.3	4%		50.4	9%	(50%)
Underlying revenue	623.9	100%		549.0	97%	14%
Ireland Retail segment exit	-	-		21.2	3%	-
Revenue	623.9	100%		570.2	100%	9%

 

 

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

.

The Group's revenue of £623.9m for the year ended 30 November 2017 was 9.4% higher than in the previous year (2016: £570.2m) on a reported basis. Excluding the exited Ireland retail segment underlying revenue* for the 12 months to 30 November 2017 was a 14% increase over the comparable period in 2016, with 8% being driven by revenue generated from new acquisitions.

Within the 2017 financial year there has been a substantial growth in three of our four market sectors.

Our E-Commerce revenues grew by 111% from £49.1m to £103.4m helped by strong organic growth and the acquisition of iForce in April 2017.

The Manufacturing Industrial and Bulk (MIB) segment is now our largest segment at £182.0m and grew by £49.3m (37%). This growth was delivered by a combination of the full year effect of 2016 contract wins, organic growth with existing customers and new contract wins in the year.

Growth in these two sectors provided further balance and diversification to our business. Due to the complementary nature of the demand patterns versus Retail and Consumer this further contributed to our sector leading levels of utilisation.

Our Retail sector grew from £152.2m to £168.6m (11% growth), the majority of which represents a strong performance in a mature market. This sector has benefited both from the full year effect of 2016 and 2017 contract wins. We now work with most of the major UK retailers.

Revenue in our Consumer sector reduced by £20.0m to £144.6m (-12%). This was due to the loss of one significant contract, which I am now pleased to say has been successfully re-secured.  

We will continue to review our contract base to ensure acceptable levels of profit are achieved commensurate with the exceptional levels of service provided.

Within the year we renewed £41 million of existing contracts and secured an additional £89 million of new volume with existing and new customers.

Profit and margins

Underlying EBIT* for the 12 months to 30 November 2017 was £48.5m and in line with market expectations. Despite the challenges facing our customers in the traditional Retail and Consumer sectors, underlying EBIT margin* increased from 7.5% to 7.8%.

This outcome was the result of a number of factors:

·      Strong performance in the high growth sectors of MIB and E-commerce

·      Good contributions from our acquisitions

·      Continuing programme of optimising our warehouse portfolio and generation of value from our warehousing expertise

·      Absorbed plc costs and the integration of our unprofitable Ports business into the network

·      The benefit of further network efficiencies

·      The delayed contract start-up costs caused by several new contracts going live in the first quarter of 2018 rather than in 2017

Cash flow and funding

Cash Flow	2017	2016
	£m	£m
Underlying EBITDA*	55.3	47.4
Net capital expenditure	(5.1)	(0.8)
Working capital	(10.2)	(9.0)
Tax	(2.7)	(1.7)
Net interest	(7.7)	(10.3)
Other items	0.4	3.2
Adjusted free cash flow	30.0	28.8
Acquisition of subsidiaries and non-controlling interests	(48.3)	(1.7)
Proceeds from issue of share capital (net of costs)	118.0	-
Drawdown of new borrowings	98.4	-
Repayment of debt	(179.0)	(5.8)
Other items	(2.2)	(7.2)
Dividends	(5.0)	-
Cash	11.9	14.1

 

 

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

Adjusted free cash flow was £30.0m in 2017 (2016: £28.8m). The main drivers were the improved underlying trading performance (underlying EBITDA* of £55.3m versus £47.4m in 2016) offset by the one-off working capital impact of acquiring iForce and Speedy Freight balance sheets at acquisition and working capital investment in the remainder of the Group as the business continues to grow.

The Group increased levels of net capital expenditure as the business continues to invest in systems and technology, specialist assets to support growth in our growing MIB sector and also in warehousing infrastructure.

Net interest payments reduced from £10.3m in the prior year to £7.7m in the current year reflecting the reduction in both the quantum of bank debt and the margin charged, for which we will receive further full year cash benefit during 2018.

The cash tax charge was a net payment of £2.7m in the year as compared to a £1.7m payment in the prior year.

Within the year, the cash cost of acquisitions was £48.3m. The acquisitions related to iForce, Speedy Freight and the remaining non-controlling interest in Logistic People, more information on which can be found in note 5.

Net debt

Net Debt		2017	2016
		£m	£m
Finance leases		17.8	11.9
Bank loans		103.6	135.4
Loan notes		-	32.3
Cash		(11.9)	(14.1)
Net Debt		109.5	165.5

On 13 April 2017 the Group entered into a senior facility agreement for £100.0m with a syndicate of lenders comprising the Bank of Ireland, BNP Paribas, Allied Irish Bank and KBC Group. The facility is subject to a variable rate of interest and is repayable in full in April 2022.

On 25 April 2017 we drew down the full finance facility of £100.0m and repaid the previous finance facility of £139.0m (using proceeds of the IPO). The residual capitalised bank fees associated with the previous facility of £6.6m were taken directly to the income statement and have been classified as an exceptional item in note 4.

In July 2017 we entered into a four year interest rate hedging arrangement with a 12 month deferred start date covering £60m of the term facility providing a substantial hedge against the current upward trend in interest rates.

During the year we also entered into a new revolving finance facility with KBC Group which provides access to £75.0m (2016: £50.0m) though normally restricted to £65.0m (2016: £40.0m). The facility is subject to a variable rate of interest and is in place until 2021.

Covenant		Ratio to EBITDA	30 November 2017
Leverage Ratio 1		<3.2	1.9
Net Interest Cover 1		>4.0	10.6

The Group operates within its banking covenants and has significant levels of headroom. At 30 November 2017 we had cash and unutilised finance facility of £81.7m.

Net debt at 30 November 2017 divided by underlying EBITDA* was 1.9 compared with 3.5 at 30 November 2016, a significant reduction.

Financing costs

Finance Income and Finance Expenditure		2017	2016
		£m	£m
Finance expense
Interest payable on bank loans and overdrafts		6.3	9.8
Amortisation of bank fees		1.0	1.7
Interest payable on loan notes		1.7	4.0
Interest payable on finance leases		0.7	0.5
Finance expense		9.7	16.0
Finance expense exceptional costs
Residual capitalised bank fees relating to previous loan		6.6	-
Costs associated with hedge closure		1.1	-
Total finance expenses		17.4	16.0

*Non GAAP alternative performance measures (see note 3 for reconciliation to statutory measures)

1  Leverage Ratio and Net Interest Cover are based on banking definitions specific to the banking documentation

 

Proceeds raised from the IPO were used to refinance existing debt, with net debt falling from £165.5m to £109.5m. As a consequence, both the quantum and the cost of debt financing has decreased and this will flow through in lower interest costs going forward.

Finance costs before exceptional finance items for the year were £9.7m, a substantial reduction of £6.3m on the prior year (2016: £16.0m). At current run rate, the decreased quantum of borrowing and improved interest rates would have an annualised effect of a further reduction of £3.0m of finance costs if levels of borrowing remained constant.

Exceptional items

Exceptional items for the year were £16.8m, reduced by a £4.6m credit explained below. Of this £13.4m related to the IPO, associated bank refinancing and exceptional costs relating to the acquisitions made during the year.

The remaining exceptional costs of £3.4m related to restructuring the business, in particular the costs of exiting the Ireland Retail segment. The benefits of these charges will flow through in lower costs and increased EBIT in future years.

In 2017 a £4.6m credit was recognised in exceptional items relating to a leasehold property at Goresbrook Park. Due to increased business demand the Company undertook a major redevelopment of our strategically important site at Goresbrook Park, Dagenham, funded by our landlord, which increased the revenue earning capacity by over 100%, added significant additional state-of-the-art warehousing capacity, improved transport operations facilities and enhanced rail connectivity. In conjunction with this redevelopment we surrendered our existing lease and signed a new 26 year institutional lease at market rent appropriate to the new facility. As a consequence certain credits relating to the original lease were released to the profit and loss account namely, the unamortised portion of the original two year rent free period and the provision for the contractual uplifts of rent over the original 17 year lease term. The aggregate amount of these credits was £4.6m.

Given the relative magnitude of the amount released, the Company is disclosing this as an exceptional credit in the year. However, as releases of this nature flow naturally from our continuing strategic development of our warehousing portfolio, and may well occur in the future, the Directors consider that this forms part of the underlying trading performance of the business.

Tax

Taxation		2017	2016
		£m	£m
Profit before tax		9.9	11.2
Underlying tax at prevailing tax rate		1.9	2.2
Non-deductible items		1.9	0.5
Adjustments in respect of prior periods		1.2	(1.5)
Other		-	0.1
Tax as reported		5.0	1.3
Effective rate of tax		50.5%	11.6%
Underlying tax charge		13.3%	5.5%

Our high effective tax rate for the year reflects the non-deductibility of a significant proportion of our exceptional costs, particularly those costs associated with the IPO during the year. The adjustment in respect of prior periods is due to an updated professional review of the future tax deductibility of the brand intangible.

The underlying tax charge (excluding exceptional costs and amortisation) was 13.3% (2016: 5.5%).

Dividends

Dividends		2017	2016
		pence per share	pence per share
Interim		1.4	-
Final (recommended)		4.4	-
Total		5.8	-
		2017	2016
		£m	£m
Interim		5.0	-
Final (recommended)		15.8	-
Total		20.8	-

In line with our progressive dividend policy, the Group paid an interim dividend of £5.0m (1.4 pence per share) during the year. We are also recommending a final dividend of £15.8m (4.4 pence per share) giving a total of £20.8m (5.8 pence per share) for the year. The final dividend will be paid, subject to shareholder approval, on 7 June 2018.  The record date will be 11 May 2018.

 

Earnings per share

Underlying basic and diluted earnings per share is 9.8 pence (2016: 7.9 pence).

Reported basic and diluted earnings per share was 1.2 pence (2016: 3.3 pence).

Acquisitions

On 28 April 2017 the Group completed the acquisition of iForce Group for a consideration of £45.0m (£8.0m shares and £37.0m in cash).

For the period 28 April 2017 to 30 November 2017, iForce Group generated sales of £39.6m and operating profit before exceptional items of £2.8m.

On 4 July 2017 the Group acquired 50% of the share capital and deemed control of Puro Ventures (trading as Speedy Freight) for an initial payment of £4.1m. For the period from acquisition to the year-end Speedy Freight contributed £9.5m in sales and operating profit before exceptional items of £1.0m.

On 7 August 2017 the Group entered into a business purchase agreement to acquire trucks, trailers and a contract from Canute Haulage for a consideration of £1.

On 30 August 2017 the Group acquired the remaining 50% of Logistic People which was already fully consolidated for a consideration, of up to £7m, £5m of which was paid on completion.

In both the Speedy Freight and Logistic People acquisitions, an element of consideration has been deferred in order to incentivise management to maximize shareholder value over the course of the next three years. All acquisitions are trading in line with expectations.

Key Performance Indicators

We use the following measures as management tools to assess how we are performing as a business:

Financial measures

·        Revenue by month and year to date

·        Underlying EBIT and underlying EBITDA by month and year to date

·        Projected new business pipeline

Non-Financial measures

·        Health and Safety - Accident Frequency Rate and reported RIDDORs

·        People - Number of drivers trained per month and number of recruits across the business

·        Utilisation rates - Fleet (hours per vehicle) and Warehousing (square footage utilised at established sites)

Initial public offering

On 25 April 2017 Eddie Stobart Logistics plc was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of The London Stock Exchange through a placing of 76 million new shares (£122.0m) and a further 5 million new shares (£8.0m) in connection with the consideration for the acquisition of the iForce Group.

Annual general meeting

The Company will hold its Annual General Meeting on 29 May at Stretton Green Distribution Park, Appleton, Warrington ('AGM').  The Board intends to seek authority to buy back shares at the AGM and may look to exercise such authority in future in appropriate circumstances and in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Further information will be set out in the notice of Annual General Meeting that will be sent to shareholders.

 

 

 

Damien Harte

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

Consolidated Income Statement

for the year ended 30 November 2017

 

				Year ended  30 November 2017	Year ended 30 November 2016
	Note			£'000	£'000
Continuing operations
Revenue				623,924	570,177
Cost of sales				(485,656)	(448,986)
Gross profit				138,268	121,191
Administrative expenses: before amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items				(96,137)	(81,601)
Administrative expenses: amortisation of acquired intangibles				(11,137)	(9,509)
Administrative expenses: before exceptional items				(107,274)	(91,110)
Administrative expenses: exceptional items	4			(4,414)	(3,288)
Total administrative expenses				(111,688)	(94,398)
Profit from operating activities				26,580	26,793
Profit from operating activities: before exceptional items				30,994	30,081
Finance income	6			5	5
Finance expenses: before exceptional items	6			(9,650)	(15,984)
Finance expenses: exceptional items	4			(7,753)	-
Total finance expense				(17,403)	(15,984)
Net finance expense				(17,398)	(15,979)
Share of profit from equity accounted investees, net of tax				733	428
Profit before tax				9,915	11,242
Tax expense				(5,030)	(1,332)
Profit for the year from continuing operations				4,885	9,910
Profit attributable to:
Owners of the Company				3,931	9,029
Non-controlling interests				954	881
Profit for the year				4,885	9,910

 

Earnings per share:
Basic - total operations	8			1.2p	3.3p
Diluted - total operations	8			1.2p	3.3p

 

 

The accompanying notes form part of the financial statements.

 

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the year ended 30 November 2017

				Year ended	Year ended
				30 November	30 November
				2017	2016
				£'000	£'000
Profit for the year				4,885	9,910
Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Foreign currency translation differences - foreign operations				(175)	882
Foreign currency translation differences - equity-accounted investees				20	92
Movement on hedging reserve				1,546	285
Tax on items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss				(340)	-
Total items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss				1,051	1,259
Total comprehensive income for the year				5,936	11,169
Total comprehensive income attributable to:
Owners of the Company				4,982	10,288
Non-controlling interests				954	881
Total comprehensive income for the year				5,936	11,169

 

 

The accompanying notes form part of the financial statements.