REG - Hunting PLC - 2021 Year End Trading Update

HuntingAnnouncement

16/12/2021 07:01

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RNS Number : 7898V  Hunting PLC  16 December 2021

 

 For Immediate Release  16 December 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hunting PLC

 

("Hunting" or "the Company" or "the Group")

 

2021 Year End Trading Update

 

Hunting PLC (LSE : HTG), the international energy services group, today issues
a year-end trading update. The Group will be reporting its 2021 Full Year
Results on Thursday 3 March 2022.

 

Trading during the final quarter of 2021 has remained in line with
management's expectations, with a broadly break-even EBITDA result anticipated
for the full-year.

 

US onshore activity continues to strengthen, benefiting the Hunting Titan
operating segment whose results remain ahead of expectations. Within the North
America operating segment, the US Manufacturing, Subsea and Trenchless
businesses have reported improving revenues which has led to a higher
absorption of fixed costs and stable operating profits during the quarter. The
EMEA operating segment continues to report subdued trading, however, cost
management measures implemented earlier in the year are now significantly
narrowing trading losses. In Asia Pacific, the segment has also seen an
improvement in sales leading to a broadly break-even result being reported in
November.

 

The Group's order book has strengthened by c.20% in the three months to 30
November 2021 with a significant uptick reported in North America and Europe.
The order book will increase further in December following strong contract
wins by Hunting's Subsea business, coupled with a general increase in
successful bidding within the Group's US and Asia Pacific businesses.

 

Overall, management believe that the Group has seen a notable improvement in
its trading performance during the quarter, supported by the current pricing
of oil and natural gas, which is anticipated to continue to the year-end and
into 2022.  Trading momentum is further supported by the ongoing drive to
secure non-oil and gas sales.

 

The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with a cash and bank position of
$77.2 million as at 3 December 2021. Capital expenditure outflows remain low
and management continues to closely manage working capital as market
conditions stabilise. Further, the Group is now likely to conclude the
arrangements for its new Asset Based Lending facility in the coming weeks, as
due diligence is completed by the lending group.

 

Following further due diligence, the Board has also decided to postpone its
plans to launch a level two American Depositary Receipt programme, however,
this decision may be revisited at a later date.

 

Jim Johnson, Chief Executive of Hunting, commented:

 

"While the speed of the oilfield services recovery during the year has been
hindered by COVID-19, strong capital controls by our end user clients and
geopolitical volatility, the Group exits 2021 with a more stable trading
outlook, supported by the strong pricing of oil and gas, coupled with
management's ongoing actions to address Hunting's cost base.

 

"We expect 2022 to show further improvements to revenue and profitability with
our technology, service offering and quality assured products being in demand
by clients, as new projects commence and activity levels improve."

 

 For further information please contact:

 Hunting PLC                              Tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 0123

 Jim Johnson, Chief Executive

 Bruce Ferguson, Finance Director

 Tarryn Riley, Investor Relations

 Buchanan                                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

 Ben Romney

 Jon Krinks

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

About Hunting PLC

 

Hunting PLC is an international energy services provider to the world's
leading upstream oil and gas companies. Established in 1874, it is a premium
listed public company traded on the London Stock Exchange. The Company
maintains a corporate office in Houston and is headquartered in London. As
well as the United Kingdom, the Company has operations in Canada, China,
Indonesia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab
Emirates and the United States of America.

 

The Group reports in US dollars across four segments: Hunting Titan, North
America, Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") and Asia Pacific.

 

Hunting PLC's Legal Entity Identifier is 2138008S5FL78ITZRN66.

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