REG - FIH Group PLC - AGM Statement

FIHAnnouncement

20/09/2022 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220920:nRST9196Za&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 9196Z  FIH Group PLC  20 September 2022

20 September 2022

FIH group plc

 

("FIH" or "the Group")

 

AGM Statement

 

FIH group plc, the AIM quoted international specialist services group with
businesses in the Falkland Islands and UK, is holding its Annual General
Meeting ("AGM") today.

 

At the meeting, Chairman, Robin Williams, will make the following statement:

"On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome shareholders to the FIH
Group AGM.

Performance for the Year Ended 31 March 2022

The last two years have been extremely challenging for the Group and we were
therefore pleased to report an underlying pre-tax profit of £2.3 million for
the year ended 31 March 2022, compared to a broadly break-even result in the
prior year.  A significant move towards pre-pandemic levels of trading,
decisive action to reduce costs and the hard work of our employees all
contributed to this improvement.

The results were underpinned by an operating cash flow of £5.1 million and
the closing cash balance of £9.6 million was in line with the prior year,
after adjusting for the repayment of £5.0 million of CBILS loans in June
2021.

Subject to approval by shareholders at today's AGM, a final dividend of 2.0
pence per ordinary share will be paid on 19 October 2022 to the holders of
ordinary shares on the members register at close of business on 23 September
2022.  This will take the total dividend paid for the year to 3.0p per share
compared to a payment of nil in the prior year.

Post Year End Performance

Performance in the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 August 2022 at both Momart
and the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company ("PHFC") was ahead of last year and
broadly in line with expectations.

Trading continues to recover across all areas of Momart and despite the
absence of pandemic-related government support, profits were ahead of the same
period last year.  The Exhibitions order book remains broadly in line with
March 2022 and demand for the second half of the current year is strong.
Activity in Gallery services continues to increase and recent success from the
Art Basel fair bodes well for Frieze London in October.

Passenger numbers at PHFC continued to improve from the 76% of pre-pandemic
levels recorded in March 2022, reaching circa 86% for August 2022.

The Falkland Islands Company ("FIC") has had a slower than expected start to
the current financial year due mainly to timing differences on project
delivery in the Falkland Building Services housing and construction division
("FBS") combined with reduced retail revenues.

The impact of project phasing in FBS is expected to reverse in the second half
of the year, which includes the traditionally more productive austral spring
and summer months.

In retail, continued inflationary cost pressures have necessitated price
increases and trading volumes are down.  The return of tourists to the
Falkland Islands in the second half of the year should improve retail
revenues, both via direct tourist spend and by generating tourist-related
earnings for Falkland Islands residents.

Outlook

The overall trading outlook for the Group remains positive.  The UK
businesses continue to perform in line with expectations and whilst there are
headwinds facing retail in FIC, these should be mitigated by the strong order
book in FBS and the potential for further work with the Falkland Islands
Government."

 

 

Enquiries:

 FIH group plc

 Stuart Munro, Chief Executive              Tel: 01279 461630

 WH Ireland Ltd. - NOMAD and Broker to FIH

 Chris Fielding / Megan Liddell             Tel: 0207 220 1666

 Novella Communications

 Tim Robertson / Chris Marsh                Tel: 020 3151 7008

 

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  AGMBBGDCGXBDGDC