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RNS Number : 6620U Aquila Services Group PLC 27 November 2023
For immediate release
27 November 2023
Aquila Services Group plc
Unaudited Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2023
Aquila Services Group plc (''the Company''), is the holding company for Altair
Consultancy and Advisory Services Ltd (''Altair''), Aquila Treasury and
Finance Solutions Ltd ("ATFS") and Oaks Consultancy Ltd ("Oaks") which form
the Group (''the Group'').
The Group works in the UK and internationally. Its expertise is in the
provision, financing and management of affordable housing by housing
associations, local authorities, government agencies and other non-profit
organisations, high level business advice to the property sector and support
for organisations including multi-academy education trusts and sports
foundations working in communities to improve health and well-being
opportunities.
Results Highlights
6 Months to 6 months to Year ended
30 Sept 2023 (unaudited) 30 Sept 2022 (unaudited) 31 March 2023 (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue 5,923 5,874 12,249
Gross profit 1,039 1,078 2,605
Underlying Operating profit* 99 308 806
Profit after tax 68 244 518
Earnings per share 0.17p 0.61p 1.29p
Cash balances 1,649 1,718 2,405
Total dividend payable 0.25p 0.25p 0.75p
*Underlying operating profit is calculated by adjusting the reported pre-tax
profit for share-based payment charges and impairment of goodwill.
Dividend
The directors propose an interim dividend of 0.25p (2022: 0.25p). This will
be paid on 20 December 2023 to shareholders on the register at 8 December
2023.
A copy of the interim results will be available from the Company's website:
https://aquilaservicesgroup.co.uk/investor-information
(https://aquilaservicesgroup.co.uk/investor-information)
This announcement includes inside information as defined in Article 7 of the
Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").
For further information please visit www.aquilaservicesgroup.co.uk
(http://www.aquilaservicesgroup.co.uk) or contact:
Aquila Services Group plc
Claire Banks
Claire.banks@aquilaservicesgrp.co.uk
Group Finance Director and Company Secretary
Tel: 020 7934 0175
Beaumont Cornish Limited, Financial Adviser
Roland Cornish / Asia Szusciak
corpfin@b-cornish.co.uk
Tel: 020 7628 3396
Chair's statement
Dear Shareholder,
I am pleased to present the half-yearly report and the interim results for the
six months to 30 September 2023.
Aquila Services Group plc ("the Company") is the holding company for Altair
Consultancy & Advisory Services Ltd ("Altair"), Aquila Treasury and
Financial Solutions Ltd ("ATFS") and Oaks Consultancy Ltd ("Oaks") which form
the Group ("the Group").
The group is an independent consultancy specializing in the provision,
financing, and management of affordable housing by housing associations, local
authorities, government agencies and other non-profit organisations. The Group
also provides high level business advice to the commercial property sector and
support for organisations including multi-academy education trusts, charities
and sports foundations, working in communities to improve health and
well-being opportunities.
The prospect for the half year was for the business to continue the growth
achieved in the second half of the financial year ended 31 March 2023. Demand
for the majority of our services in many of the sectors in which we operate
has continued at a high level although the wait for government to set
effective procedures for education to access capital allocations continues.
However, a number of factors have impacted on the profitability and to a
lesser extent turnover in the first six months.
As mentioned at the year end, 'wage inflation and skills shortages are still a
significant upward pressure on our cost base'. We have, like the majority of
businesses, had to respond to these pressures and with the cost of living
crisis continuing, the pressure on salaries has increased and these additional
costs, as well as costs of recruitment and training, have reduced
profitability in the first 6 months of this financial year.
Our consultants, particularly those with specific skills, are in high demand
in the sector. This has led to pressures on retention and additional costs of
recruitment and training. There is an interregnum before the new recruits
are able to support the level of expertise required by our clients. We are
beginning to see these pressures ease as the general recruitment market as
well as the cost of living become less challenging. It is our expectation that
it will be the next financial year before we can return to a position where
there is stability between demand for our services and the resources that we
have available.
The pressures on the property market and in particular the cross-subsidy
provided to new affordable housing has impacted on our clients. To compensate,
our development team have changed emphasis with consultants assisting with
investment in existing housing stock with both turnover and profitability
being affected during this transition.
The planned restructuring and investment in Oaks has taken longer than
expected partially due to the difficulties experienced in the recruitment
market. The restructuring is now largely completed but represented a
significant additional cost in the first six months.
Looking forward we are now better positioned and resourced to meet the demands
of a challenging market. New opportunities for the Group's services are
emerging, particularly with our international work, and proposals for more
diverse growth in both social and affordable housing. We do not expect that
profitability in the second half will compensate for the shortfall in the
first half but we confidently expect an improving position.
We are still conscious of the impact of the costs of having a full market
quote on the London Stock Exchange and are continuing to examine ways the
impact can be reduced with benefit to shareholders.
Turnover for the 6 months was £5,923k (£5,874k 6 months to September 2022;
£12,249k 12 months to March 2023) and profit before tax, share option charges
and impairment of goodwill of £99k (£308k September 2022, £806k March
2023).
The Group continues to have a strong balance sheet with no debt. As at 30
September 2023 net current assets were £2,856k (30 September 2022 £2,715k
and 31 March 2023 £3,036k).
We are confident of achieving a significant profit for the full year and will
therefore maintain the interim dividend at the previous level. The final
dividend will be reviewed once we know the outcome for the full year. The
interim dividend for the 6 months ended 30 September 2023 to be paid on 20
December 2023 to those shareholders on the register at 8 December 2023 will be
0.25p, (30 September 2022: 0.25p, 31 March 2023 0.5p).
We remain committed to the services that the Group offers to organisations and
agencies working to provide the essential services that enhance the life
opportunities of their communities. In an increasingly troubled world, finding
the resources to maintain these objectives is the challenge, both to
government and the many different sectors that make up our civil society. Our
role in helping clients construct funding and delivery mechanisms to achieve
these objectives is important. As always it is only from the commitment and
expertise of all our staff that we can achieve these objectives. On behalf of
the board we thank them for their efforts.
I look forward to reporting progress at the year end.
Derek Joseph - Chair
24 November 2023
The Management of the Group are pleased to present their report for the period
ended 30 September 2023.
Aquila at a Glance
The Group continues to implement its business strategy to encompass all the
professional consultancy services that the Group's client base demands. The
Group now provides advice and support across the affordable housing,
regeneration, sport, charity and education sectors. Its purpose is to assist
organisations that benefit local communities such as housing associations,
local authorities, government agencies, multi-academy trusts, charities, other
non-profit organisations and those set up for community benefit, as well as
providing related high-level business advice to the commercial property
sector.
Business performance and position
Altair Consultancy and Advisory Services Ltd ("Altair")
Altair is a specialist management consultancy company that works with
organisations that govern, manage, regulate or build housing. Operating within
the UK and Europe, its international client base is increasing with continuing
and new contracts in Africa and investment in expansion into Asia.
The services that Altair offers cover housing development and regeneration,
property asset management, health and safety compliance and building safety
advice, strategic financial advice, governance and risk management, executive
and non-executive recruitment. Our digital, transformation and people services
and our technical asset team are areas of continued significant investment and
growth.
Clients contract with Altair on a fixed-fee basis, through retained contracts
in our finance, governance and transformation business streams, and placements
for members of the property team, and increasingly for our transformation
team, at client sites.
Both the consulting and property businesses have seen income remain in-line
with expectations this half year. Profitability has been affected by the
cost-of-living crisis, recruitment and retention and the investment in our new
service lines, Commercial and Procurement and Sustainability.
The impact of the macro-economic environment was most keenly felt within our
property business, clients have begun to reduce their investment in new
housing development and increase investment in their current housing stock. To
mitigate this, where possible, colleagues are being redeployed into the
technical and asset management teams which have an increasing workload.
The business is seeing opportunity on the work clients are undertaking in
preparation for the implementation of the various new Bills that have gained
Royal Assent in the last six months, specifically the new consumer regulations
due to come into force in April 2024.
Management report
Aquila Treasury and Financial Solutions Ltd ("ATFS")
ATFS is a specialist treasury management consultancy authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority that operates across the UK and Europe. It
provides advice on treasury policy and strategy, debt and capital market
finance, banking and card merchant services, value for money, and financial
market information services to local authorities, charities, housing
associations, education bodies, private sector housing providers and
government bodies.
Work is delivered through fixed price contracts as retained general treasury
advisers and information subscription agreements. Specific advisory project
contracts are on a fixed fee basis, won through competitive procurement
tenders, payable on agreed project milestones.
The changes in personnel within ATFS last year has meant that the business has
stabilised and, although the issues within education procurement continues,
the treasury advice into the housing and international markets has seen an
increase in the half year. This is expected to improve in the next half.
Oaks Consultancy Limited ("Oaks")
Oaks is a specialist sports, charity, statutory and education consultancy
operating within the UK and Europe with an increasing international presence.
Oaks' clients include national and international sports teams and governing
bodies, national and international charities, statutory organisations and
local authorities, multi academy trusts and teaching school alliances, housing
associations and corporate businesses.
Oaks provides consultancy advice and guidance on strategy and business
planning, organisational and cultural change programmes, impact measurement,
together with implementation support in relation to income generation and
diversification. Contracts are delivered through a mix of fixed-fee projects
and retained contracts for general advisory services.
The agreed investment in Oaks was slower than anticipated and this has
affected the results this half year. With two of the three planned sector
leads now in-place the expectations are that the results in the second half
will recover, although not to budgeted levels.
Investments
The Group continues to hold a 5.3% equity stake in AssetCore, a company
building a financial debt management platform for the affordable housing
sector.
Group-wide initiatives
ESG Group
The purpose of the ESG Group is to focus on the Environment, Social and
Governance (ESG) agenda and to drive the agenda across the Group and its
subsidiaries. This includes driving Aquila's approach to being a climate
conscious organisation. During the year the Group retained its Carbon Neutral
Plus status and to ensure all employees are treated fairly. The Group commit
to training all employees on the importance of having an inclusive workforce.
Further information about, and activities within the groups, is available on
the website.
Outlook
The outlook for the second half is positive. The housing and international
markets continue to provide opportunities for the Group and the investment in
the Sports, Chairty and Education sector should see an increase in contracts
in the next period.
Retention and recruitment continue to be one of the major risks and there is a
sharp focus on this by the leadership teams of each business within the Group.
In addition, the Group remains focused on improving margins whilst retaining
turnover growth.
Going concern basis
The Board updates its three-year business plan annually. This includes a
review of the Company's cash flows and other key financial ratios over the
period. These metrics are subject to sensitivity analysis which involves
flexing a number of the main assumptions underlying the forecast, both
individually and in unison. Where appropriate, this analysis is carried out
to evaluate the potential impact of the Company's principal risks. The
three-year review also makes certain assumptions about the normal level of
capital investment likely to occur and considers whether additional financing
facilities will be required.
The Group does not have any bank debt and remains in a strong cash position
with balances at the end of September 2023 at £1.65m and net current assets
at £2.86m.
The Directors continue to review the forecasts on a monthly basis applying
stress tests to the reforecasts to ensure viability of the outputs. The Group
continue to monitor cash balances, debtors and cash generation on a daily
basis. Based on the results of these analyses, the Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Company will be able to continue in operation and meet
its liabilities as they fall due in the next twelve months and over the
three-year period of their assessment.
Risks and uncertainties
The key risks and uncertainties relating to the Group's operations remain
largely consistent with those disclosed in the Group's Annual Report and
Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023. These are listed below:
· Financial risk
· Unfavourable economic conditions and/or changes to government policy
· Competition
· Staff skills, retention, recruitment and succession
· Data governance
The Group seeks to mitigate all these risks through ensuring that it monitors
changes in statutory, regulatory and financial requirements and maintains good
relationships with its clients, principal contacts within government,
regulators and other key influencers within the sector. The Group is well
placed to provide the full range of services needed by its clients as the
external environment changes.
A detailed explanation of the risks relevant to the Group is on Page 20 of the
Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 and is available
on the Company's website at www.aquilaservicesgroup.co.uk
(http://www.aquilaservicesgroup.co.uk) .
Fiona Underwood - Executive Director
24 November 2023
Responsibility Statement
The Directors, whose names and functions are set out at the end of this
report, are responsible for preparing the Unaudited Interim Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance
and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority
("DTR") and with International Accounting Standard 34 on Interim Financial
reporting ("IAS 34"). The Directors confirm that, to the best of their
knowledge,
(a) this Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Report,
which has been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting
Standard 34 gives a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial
position and profit or loss of the Group; and
(b) the interim management report includes a fair review of
the information required by DTR 4.2.7 and DTR 4.2.8 namely:
§ an indication of key events occurred during the period and their impact on
the Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the second half of
the financial year; and
§ material related party transactions that have taken place during the period
and that have materially affected the financial position or the performance of
the business during that period.
Remuneration of Directors and key management personnel
The remuneration of the key management personnel of the Group, including all
directors of subsidiary companies, is set out below in aggregate for each of
the categories specified in IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures.
6 months to 30 September 2023 (unaudited) 6 months to 30 September 2022 (unaudited) Year ended 31 March 2023
(audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Wages and salaries 395 499 1,036
Share-based payments 2 5 5
Post-retirement benefits 17 24 48
415 528 1,089
Claire Banks - Group Finance Director
24 November 2023
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the six months ended 30 September 2023
Six months to 30 September 2023 Six months to 30 September 2022 Year ended
31 March
2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue 5,923 5,874 12,249
Cost of sales (4,883) (4,796) (9,644)
Gross profit 1,040 1,078 2,605
Administrative expenses (966) (776) (1,828)
Operating profit 74 302 777
Finance income 19 - 17
Impairment of Goodwill - - (120)
Profit before taxation 93 302 674
Income tax expense (25) (58) (156)
Profit for the period 68 244 518
Earnings per share attributable to owners of the parent
Weighted average number of shares: '000 '000 '000
- Basic 39,962 39,962 39,962
- Diluted 41,016 41,016 41,016
Basic earnings per share 0.17p 0.61p 1.29p
Diluted earnings per share 0.16p 0.60p 1.26p
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
As at 30 September 2023
30 September 2023 30 September 2022 31 March
2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Non-current assets
Goodwill 3,197 3,317 3,197
Right of use assets 397 229 185
Property, plant and equipment 63 50 49
Investments 71 71 71
3,728 3,667 3,502
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 3,221 2,574 3,130
Cash and bank balances 1,649 1,718 2,405
4,870 4,292 5,535
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 1,703 1,266 2,260
Lease liabilities 105 89 69
Corporation tax 206 222 170
2,014 1,577 2,499
Net current assets 2,856 2,715 3,036
Non-current lease liabilities 298 150 126
Net assets 6,286 6,232 6,412
Equity
Share capital 1,998 1,998 1,998
Share premium account 1,712 1,712 1,712
Merger reserve 3,042 3,042 3,042
Share-based payment reserve 370 358 364
Retained losses (836) (878) (704)
Equity attributable to the owners of the parent 6,412
6,286 6,232
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
Share Share based
Share premium Merger payment Retained Total
capital account reserve reserve losses equity
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance at 1 April 2022 1,998 1,712 3,042 415 (1,025) 6,142
Transfer on reserves - - - (63) 63 -
Total comprehensive income - - - - 244 244
Share based payment charge - - - 6 - 6
Dividend - - - - (160) (160)
Balance at 30 September 2022 1,998 1,712 3,042 358 (878) 6,232
Transfer on reserves - - - - - -
Total comprehensive income - - - - 274 274
Share based payment charge - - - 6 - 6
Dividend - - - - (100) (100)
Balance at 31 March 2023 1,998 1,712 3,042 364 (704) 6,412
Transfer on reserves - - - - - -
Total comprehensive income - - - - 68 68
Share based payment charge - - - 6 - 6
Dividend - - - - (200) (200)
Balance at 30 September 2023 1,998 1,712 3,042 370 (836) 6,286
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
for the six months ended 30 September 2023
Six months to 30 September Six months to 30 September Year ended
31 March
2023 2022 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flow from operating activities
Profit for the period 68 244 518
Interest received (19) - (17)
Income tax expense 25 58 156
Share based payment charge 6 6 12
Impairment of goodwill - - 120
Depreciation 63 59 124
Operating cash flows before movement in working capital 143 367 913
(Increase)/Decrease in trade and other receivables (91) 19 (537)
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables (557) (652) 343
Cash generated by operations (505) (266) 719
Income taxes refunded/(paid) 11 20 (130)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities (494) (246) 589
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 19 - 17
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (33) (25) (45)
Net cash (outflow) from investing activities (14) (25) (28)
Cash flows from financing activities
Lease liability payments (48) (44) (89)
Dividends paid (200) (160) (260)
Net cash (outflow) from financing activities (248) (204) (349)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (756) (475) 212
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period 2,405 2,193 2,193
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period 1,649 1,718 2,405
Notes to the Condensed set of Financial Statements
for the six months ended 30 September 2023
1. General information
The Company and its subsidiaries (together ''the Group'') are a major provider
of consultancy services to organisations that develop, fund or manage
affordable housing. It provides specialist housing, sport, education and
treasury management consultancy services.
The Company is a public limited company domiciled in the United Kingdom and
incorporated under registered number 08988813 in England and Wales. The
Company's registered office is Tempus Wharf, 29a Bermondsey Wall West, London,
SE16 4SA.
2. Basis of preparation
The Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements of the Group
have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies, presentation,
methods of computation and estimation techniques used in the preparation of
the audited accounts for the period ended 31 March 2023 and expected to be
adopted in the financial information by the Company in preparing its annual
report for the year ending 31 March 2024.
This Interim Consolidated Financial Information for the six months ended 30
September 2023 has been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International
Accounting Standard 34. This Interim Consolidated Financial Information is
not the Group's statutory financial statements and should be read in
conjunction with the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March
2023, which were prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International
Accounting Standards and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified, did not
include references to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way
of emphasis of matter without qualifying their report and did not contain
statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The Interim Consolidated Financial Information for the six months ended 30
September 2023 is unaudited. In the opinion of the Directors, the Interim
Consolidated Financial Information presents fairly the financial position, and
results from operations and cash flows for the period.
The Directors have made an assessment of the Group's ability to continue as a
going concern and are satisfied that the Group has adequate resources to
continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Group,
therefore, continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its
consolidated financial statements.
The financial statements are presented in sterling, which is the Group's
functional currency as the UK is the primary environment in which it operates.
3. Operating segments
The Group has two reportable segments being: consultancy, and treasury
management services, the results of which are included within the financial
information. In accordance with IFRS8 'Operating Segments', information on
segment assets is not shown, as this is not provided to the chief operating
decision-maker.
The principal activities of the Group are as follows:
Consultancy - a range of services to support the business needs of a diverse
range of organisations across the housing (including housing associations and
local authorities), education and sports sectors. Most consultancy projects
run over one to two months and on-going business development is required to
ensure a full pipeline of consultancy work for the employed team.
Treasury Management - a range of services providing treasury advice and
fund-raising services to non-profit making organisations working in the
affordable housing and education sectors. Within this segment of the
business several client organisations enter fixed period retainers to ensure
immediate call-off of the required services.
The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group's
accounting policies. Segment profit represents the profit earned by each
segment, without allocation of central administration costs, including
Directors' salaries, finance costs and income tax expense. This is the
measure reported to the Group's executives for the purpose of resource
allocation and assessment of segment performance.
6 months to 30 Sept 6 Months to 30 Sept 2022
2023
£'000 £'000
Revenue from Consultancy 5,734 5,647
Revenue from Treasury Management 189 227
5,923 5,874
Within consultancy revenues, approximately 8% (2022: 16%) has arisen from the
segment's largest customer; within treasury management 19% (2022: 20%).
Geographical information
Revenues from external customers, based on location of the customer, are shown
below:
6 months to 30 Sept 6 months to 30 Sept 2022
2023
£'000 £'000
UK 5,530 5,658
Europe 268 193
Rest of World 125 23
5,923 5,874
4. Share capital
The Company has one class of share in issue being ordinary shares with a par
value of 5p. Allotted, issued and called up ordinary shares of £0.05 each:
Number Amount called up and fully paid
£'000
'000
As at 1 April 2022 39,961 1,998
As at 30 September 2022 39,961 1,998
As at 31 March 2023 39,961 1,998
As at 30 September 2023 39,961 1,998
5. Share-based payment transactions
The Company operates an Unapproved Scheme and an Enterprise Management
Incentives Scheme. The total cost recognised in the period to 30 September
2023 arising from share-based payment transactions is £6k (30 September 2022:
£6k).
Unapproved scheme Number '000 Weighted average exercise price
Number of options outstanding at 1 April 2023 and 30 September 2023 171 £0.35
The exercise price of the options outstanding at 30 September 2023 is £0.35
EMI scheme Number Weighted average exercise price
'000
Number of options outstanding at 1 April 2023 2,196 £0.05
Number of options outstanding at 30 September 2023 2,196 £0.14
1,305 £0.05
Number of options exercisable at 30 September 2023
6. Going concern
The Group has sufficient financial resources to enable it to continue its
operational activities for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the
Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in
preparing these interim accounts.
7. Dividend
An interim dividend of 0.25p will be paid on 20 December 2023 to shareholders
on the register at 8 December 2023 at a cost of £99,905.
8. Related party disclosures
Balances and transactions between the Group and other related parties are
disclosed below:
During the 6 months to 30 September 2023, Derek Joseph, Chair, was paid £33k
(6 months to September 2022: £11.7k) which includes £28k (6 months to
September 2022: £6.7k) of consultancy fees in relation the Group's
international business.
Richard Wollenberg, non-executive director, accrued fees of £2k (6 months to
September 2022: £2k). At 30 September 2023, the balance owed to Richard
Wollenberg for services as a non-executive director was £6k (6 months to
September 2022: £6k).
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