TOOL HIRE TOP TEN 2013 continued
SPEEDY HIRE PLC Chief Executive
Head Office
Telephone Number Website
Hire activities
Geographical coverage Status
Steve Corcoran
Chase House, 16 The Parks, Newton-le- Willows, Merseyside, WA12 0JQ 01942 720000
www.speedyhire.plc.uk
General tools, power, survey and lifting equipment, pumps, non-mechanical access and rail, training
UK, Ireland, UAE, Egypt, Oman
Public company listed on the London Stock Exchange
INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30.09.12 Six months ended Six months ended % Change 30.09.12 (£m)
30.09.11 (£m)
Revenue UK & Ireland International
Group Revenue EBITDA
UK & Ireland International
Group EBITDA
160.6 8.5
169.1
34.2 2.4
36.6 Pre-Tax Group Profit 4.7
157.0* 4.8
161.8
32.2 0.6
32.8
+2.3* +77.1 +4.5
+6.2
+300.0 +11.6
(2.3)** Recovery from loss
*included revenues of £2.9m from disposed accommodation operation; revenue growth from continuing operations is 4.2% **after exceptional items of £5.1m consisting of £2.9m relating to the disposal of the accommodation hire assets and £2.2m of exceptional finance cost arising from finance facility agreed in July 2011.
COMMENT
It has been a long haul back to profitability for Speedy, which was left over-exposed to the downturn in 2008, after the 2007 acquisition of Hewden Hire Centres reinforced its No. 1 position in the Top Ten. Speedy’s revenues peaked at £483m in the year ended 31 March 2009, as did its losses of £71m (after exceptional costs of £90m). Group revenues have fallen each year since to reach £329m last year, when the company saw a return to profitability, posting pre-tax of just over £3m. The recent half year results are an encouraging sign that Speedy is now returning to a growth path and to the steady re-building of its profitability and its balance sheet.
Speedy remains the UK’s largest hirer and its gradual return to financial health is good news for the industry’s prospects. It is fair to say that the company has not deviated from its strategy of securing long term hire agreements with major contractors and other leading companies. Its well-established working relationship with Carillion led to its first overseas venture in the Middle East and that made its first positive contribution to profits in the first half year.
This improving trend does not, however, leave Speedy under any illusion about the current economic conditions. Steve Corcoran
25
believes that 2013 might prove to be the toughest yet for the hire industry as the continuing low level of construction demand brings about an increasing number of failures in the building trade. This is obviously going to mean a testing time for hirers as the risk of bad debt intensifies. This is one reason why Steve Corcoran believes Speedy’s focus on larger companies is justified.
Speedy has continued to reduce its depot numbers which are almost half of what they were at the time of the purchase of Hewden Hire Centres, but Steve Corcoran points out the whole thrust of the exercise has been towards much larger, more strategically-sited depots covering a wider geographical market area, but offering a broader range of equipment and services than was possible from smaller outlets. The first half of this year has seen return on capital employed rising to 7%, compared to 6.4% last year, and Steve Corcoran is confident it will be back up to 10% by 2014.
Nevertheless his main message for 2013 and beyond is, “anyone who does not believe the next year to 18 months will be difficult does not understand the market.”
HSS HIRE SERVICE GROUP LTD Chief Executive
Chris Davies Head Office
Telephone Number Website
Hire activities
25 Willow Lane, Mitcham, CR4 4TS 020 8260 3100
www.hss.com
General tool and equipment hire plus specialist activities such as lifting, safety, survey, welding and generating equipment; sales, training and equipment management services
Geographical coverage Status
COMMENT
In May 2012 Aurigo and Och-Ziff Capital, then principal owners of HSS, appointed Lazards to review the possible options for the company. In the current economic climate the sale to another private equity house always appeared the most feasible outcome and, in October, it was announced that Exponent Private Equity had become the new owner.
The sale process has meant that HSS has not issued quarterly and half yearly financial reports as it has done in previous years. Chris Davies states “HSS is enjoying great success and goes from strength to strength. This transaction and further support from Exponent will help us to unlock fresh capital needed to realise the next phase of our growth plan.” The subsequent purchase of Abird Generator Hire brings added breadth to the HSS fleet and enables it to offer a wider service in a product line where demand looks set to continue to grow strongly.
UK, Ireland and international franchises Private company with private equity funding
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