REG - Slingsby(H.C.)Plc - Results for the year ended 31 December 2023
23/04/2024 07:00
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RNS Number : 5835L Slingsby(H.C.)Plc 23 April 2024
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information pursuant to Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014
as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended. Upon the publication of this announcement
via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain.
23 April 2024
H C SLINGSBY PLC
("Slingsby" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Audited Results for the year ended 31 December 2023
Statement by the Chairman
Board Composition
I was pleased to be appointed as independent Non-Executive Chairman of the
company on 12 September 2023. My appointment has improved the level of
independence on the Board, although the Board believes that it would benefit
from the appointment of another independent Non-Executive Director and intends
to make such an appointment in due course.
On 11 March 2024, Dominic Slingsby resigned from the board. Dominic remains
as an employee and will leave the Group on 30 June 2024 after over 40 years'
service. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Dominic for his
commitment and contribution during his tenure. His dedication will be missed
by everyone at Slingsby, and we wish him the very best in his retirement.
Results
In the half year statement, an operating profit of £0.33m on sales of £11.5m
was reported. The full year operating profit was £0.63m (2022: £0.63m) on
sales of £22.6m (2022: £21.6m). Group sales increased by 5%, helped by the
acquisition of certain assets of the Stakrak business. Gross margin improved
despite the insolvency of our main logistics partner in June 2023, but higher
overheads and interest relating to the defined benefit pension scheme, led to
a reduced profit before taxation of £0.36m (2022: £0.49m).
Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ("EBITDA")
in the year ended 31 December 2023 were £1.02m (2022: £1.09m). The Group
had net cash (after overdraft balances included in trade and other payables)
as at 31 December 2023 of £0.21m (2022: £0.03m). The increase in cash was
due to EBITDA offsetting capital expenditure, the costs of the acquisition of
certain assets of the Stakrak business and pension scheme deficit reduction
payments.
Dividend
As part of the agreement reached with the Trustee of the defined benefit
pension scheme (discussed below), the Board is unable to declare a final
dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 (2022: £nil).
Pension Scheme
The Company paid £0.40m (2022: £0.35m) in deficit reduction contributions
during 2023. The Company also continues to contribute £0.16m (2022:
£0.16m) towards the scheme's running costs. Following the triennial
valuation which took place as of 1 January 2023, the Company has agreed with
the Trustee of its defined benefit pension scheme to pay a lower level of
deficit reduction contributions than under its previous agreement over 2024,
2025 and 2026. This will result in a short term cash saving to the Group of
approximately £0.39m, but does not alter the obligation upon the Company to
fund the scheme deficit.
As part of the agreement, the Company has committed to not making dividend
payments in respect of the 2023 and 2024 financial years. At 31 December
2023, the pension scheme deficit increased by £0.28m to £5.77m (2022:
£5.49m). This deterioration in the pension scheme position outweighed the
profit generated in the year, decreasing the Group's net assets to £4.2m
(2022: £4.3m). The worsened pension position was largely due to decreases
in the discount rate.
Recent Trading and Future Developments
Group sales in Q1 of 2024 against the same period in 2023 fell by 5%. This
decline in sales and the inclusion of costs associated with the retirement of
Dominic Slingsby of £0.2m, led to an unaudited loss before tax in Q1 2024 of
£0.14m compared to an unaudited profit before tax of £0.12m in the same
period in 2023.
The market remains competitive, and the Board is cautious regarding the
outlook. There remains uncertainty in the economy due to the risk of a
prolonged recession in the UK, inflationary pressures (particularly in
overhead costs) and the impact on the supply chain from the situation in the
Red Sea. These pressures could result in a fall in demand for the Group's
products.
The Group continues to invest in its digital market presence and a new
e-commerce platform for the Slingsby business will launch during 2024. The
Group also remains on the lookout for appropriate acquisitions.
Finally, I would like to thank our staff across the Group for their efforts in
2023. The Group has faced numerous challenges in recent years which were
overcome due to the positive attitude and hard work of our employees.
A. J. Kitchingman
Chairman
23 April 2024
For further information, please contact:
H C Slingsby PLC Tel: 01274 535 030
Andrew Kitchingman, Chairman
Morgan Morris, Group Chief Executive
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Tel: 020 3328 5656
Alex Brearley/George Payne (Corporate Finance)
Amrit Nahal (Sales and Corporate Broking)
Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended 31 December 2023
Note 2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Revenue 22,642 21,564
Cost of Sales (14,511) (14,108)
------------ ------------
Gross Profit 8,131 7,456
Distribution costs (5,078) (4,443)
Administrative expenses (2,423) (2,386)
------------ -----------
Operating profit 630 627
Finance income 12 -
Finance costs (285) (142)
---------- ----------
Profit before taxation 357 485
Taxation (124) (105)
---------- ----------
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the parent 233 380
---------- ----------
Basic and diluted earnings per share 3 22.2p 36.2p
---------- ----------
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 December
2023
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Profit for the year 233 380
Items that will not be classified to profit or loss:
Re-measurements of post-employment benefit obligation (408) 2,235
Movement in deferred tax relating to retirement benefit obligation
102 (559)
---------- ----------
Other comprehensive (expense)/income (306) 1,676
---------- ----------
Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the year attributable to equity
shareholders
(73) 2,056
---------- ----------
Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023
Note 2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 5,355 5,418
Intangible assets 293 249
Goodwill 700 700
Deferred tax asset 1,443 1,373
-------- ----------
7,791 7,740
-------- ----------
Current assets
Inventories 2,643 2,683
Trade and other receivables 2,961 2,962
Derivative financial asset - -
Cash and cash equivalents 2,249 2,243
-------- ----------
8,053 7,888
-------- ----------
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (5,043) (5,007)
Derivative financial liability (2) -
Finance lease obligations (21) (20)
--------- ---------
(5,066) (5,027)
-------- ----------
Net current assets 2,987 2,861
-------- ----------
Non-current liabilities
Lease obligations (92) (113)
Retirement benefit obligation 2 (5,772) (5,492)
Deferred tax liabilities (668) (677)
-------- ----------
Net assets 4,246 4,319
-------- ----------
Capital and reserves
Share capital 262 262
Share Premium 24 24
Retained earnings 3,960 4,033
-------- ----------
Total equity 4,246 4,319
-------- ----------
Cash and cash equivalents included above is the gross value and does not
included amounts due in relation to the bank overdraft of £2.24m (2022:
£2.22m) in the values presented above.
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 December 2023
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Note
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from/(used in) operations 4 656 (27)
Interest paid (1) -
UK corporation tax paid (114) (49)
-------- --------
Cash generated from/(used in) operating activities 541 (76)
-------- --------
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 12 -
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (201) (211)
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment 23 24
Purchase of intangible assets (170) (22)
-------- --------
Net cash used in investing activities (336) (209)
-------- --------
Cash flows from financing activities
Capital element of lease payments (26) (35)
Increase in overdraft 27 564
-------- --------
Net cash generated from financing activities 1 529
-------- --------
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 206 244
2,243 1,999
Opening cash and cash equivalents
-------- --------
Closing cash and cash equivalents 2,449 2,243
-------- --------
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity
Share capital £'000 Share premium £'000 Retained earnings Total equity £'000
£'000
1 January 2022 262 24 1,977 2,263
Profit for the year - - 380 380
Other comprehensive income for the year - - 1,676 1,676
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
Total comprehensive income for the year - - 2,056 2,056
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
1 January 2023 262 24 4,033 4,319
Profit for the year - - 233 233
Other comprehensive expense for the year - - (306) (306)
---------- --------- --------- ----------
Total comprehensive expense for the year - (73) (73)
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
31 December 2023 262 24 3,960 4,246
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
Notes to the Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2023
1. The preliminary financial information does not constitute statutory accounts
within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006 for the financial
year ended 31 December 2023 but has been extracted from those accounts. The
annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 have been prepared in
accordance with UK Adopted International Accounting Standards. The financial
information included in this preliminary announcement does not include all the
disclosures required in accounts prepared in accordance with UK Adopted
International Accounting Standards and accordingly it does not itself comply
with UK Adopted International Accounting Standards.
The accounting policies used in the preparation of these preliminary results
have remained unchanged from those set out in the statutory accounts for the
year ended 31 December 2022. They are also consistent with those in the full
accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 which have yet to be published.
The auditors have reported on the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023
and their opinion was unqualified, did not include any matters to which the
auditor drew attention by way of emphasis and did not contain a statement
under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The comparative information included in this preliminary announcement has been
extracted from the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022. The
auditors reported on these accounts and their opinion was unqualified, did not
include any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis and
did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act
2006.
Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 have been delivered to
the Registrar of Companies and those for the financial year ended 31 December
2023 will be delivered following the Company's annual general meeting.
2. Retirement benefit obligation
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Present value of funded obligation (15,056) (14,735)
Fair value of scheme assets 9,284 9,243
------------ ------------
Net liability in balance sheet (5,772) (5,492)
------------ ------------
3. Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is based upon a profit of £233,000 (2022:
£380,000) and on 1,050,000 (2022: 1,050,000) ordinary shares in issue during
the year.
There is no difference between basic profit per share and diluted loss per
share for both years as there are no potentially dilutive shares in issue.
4. Cash generated from/(used in) operating activities
2023 2022
£'000 £'000
Profit before tax 357 485
Net finance costs 273 142
Depreciation and amortisation 390 464
Defined benefit pension scheme contributions paid (405) (352)
Profit on sale of property, plant and equipment (23) (24)
Decrease/(Increase) in inventories 40 (353)
Decrease/(Increase) in trade and other receivables 1 (192)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables 23 (197)
------------ ------------
Cash generated from/(used in) operating activities 656 (27)
------------ ------------
5. Dividends
No dividends were paid or declared during 2022 or 2023 and the Directors are
not proposing any final dividend be payable in respect of the year ended 31
December 2023.
6. Availability of Report and Accounts
The financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023, containing a
notice of the Annual General Meeting will be posted to shareholders shortly
and will be available on the Company's website
www.slingsby.com/investor-relations
(http://www.slingsby.com/investor-relations) .
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