James Cropper plc (‘CRPR’, the ‘Company’ or the ‘Group’), the leading advanced materials and paper products group is pleased to announce its
Half Year Results to 24 September 2022
“Decisive actions taken combined with the ongoing investments…has strengthened our long term growth prospects”
| Half-year to 24 September 2022 | Half-year to 25 September 2021 | Full-year to 26 March 2022 | |
| £m | £m | £m | |
| Revenue | 61.6 | 50.0 | 104.9 |
| Adjusted operating profit * | 0.5 | 2.5 | 4.6 |
| Operating (loss) / profit | (0.2) | 2.3 | 3.7 |
| Adjusted profit before tax * | (0.0) | 2.3 | 4.0 |
| Impact of IAS 19 | (0.3) | (0.4) | (0.9) |
| Impact of exceptional items | (0.5) | 0.0 | (0.3) |
| (Loss) / profit before tax | (0.8) | 1.9 | 2.8 |
| (Loss) / earnings per share – basic and diluted | (9.2)p | 16.2p | 14.2p |
| Dividend per share declared | 2.0p | 2.5p | 10.0p |
| Net borrowings | (12.2) | (9.6) | (12.6) |
| Equity shareholders’ funds | 34.3 | 32.3 | 34.8 |
| Gearing % – before IAS 19 deficit | 28% | 21% | 28% |
| Gearing % – after IAS 19 deficit | 35% | 30% | 36% |
| Capital expenditure | 2.4 | 2.9 | 6.8 |
* excludes the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items (per note 8)
Headlines
· Group revenues for the half year were up on the prior year (H1 2021) by 23%, driven by new customer wins and existing client growth
· Demand remains strong, with revenue growth across each of the three divisions
· Adjusted PBT (excluding IAS 19 impact and exceptional items) at £nil due to energy inflation and raw material price increases
· Exceptional cost provision of £0.5m for contingent consideration as TFP Hydrogen projections increase
· Cost of living payments totalling £0.7m paid to support employee health and wellbeing
· Interim Dividend declared at 2.0p per share (H1 2021: 2.5p)
· Expectations for FY23 have been reduced with an adjusted PBT of £2.0m against previous market expectations of £5.4m, as announced on 31 October 2022
· Capital investments in energy saving improvements to paper machines delivering 5-7% annualised reduction in site energy consumption
· Decarbonisation project investment moving to planning application phase
· Steve Adams appointed as Chief Executive Officer on 10 August 2022
| Half-year to 24 September 2022 | Half-year to 25 September 2021 | Full-year to 26 March 2022 | |
| Summary of results | £ ‘000 | £’000 | £’000 |
| Revenue | 61,583 | 50,039 | 104,922 |
| Adjusted operating profit* | 453 | 2,474 | 4,585 |
| Operating (loss) / profit | (213) | 2,310 | 3,684 |
| Adjusted (loss) / profit before tax * | (13) | 2,263 | 4,045 |
| Impact of IAS19 | (304) | (350) | (914) |
| Exceptional items (note 8) | (540) | – | (354) |
| (Loss) / profit before tax | (857) | 1,913 | 2,777 |
* excludes the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items (per note 8)
| Half-year to 24 September 2022 | Half-year to 25 September 2021 | Full-year to 26 March 2022 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| Revenue | |||
| Paper division | 42,046 | 34,143 | 70,350 |
| Colourform division | 2,105 | 1,942 | 3,363 |
| Technical Fibre Products division | 17,432 | 13,954 | 31,209 |
| 61,583 | 50,039 | 104,922 | |
| Adjusted operating profit * | 453 | 2,474 | 4,585 |
| Adjusted net interest | (466) | (211) | (540) |
| Adjusted (loss) / profit before tax * | (13) | 2,263 | 4,045 |
| IAS19 pension adjustments | |||
| Net current service charge against operating profits | (126) | (164) | (547) |
| Finance costs charged against interest | (178) | (186) | (367) |
| (304) | (350) | (914) | |
| Exceptional items (note 8) | (540) | – | (354) |
| (Loss) / profit before tax | (857) | 1,913 | 2,777 |
* excludes the impact of IAS 19 and exceptional items (per note 8)
| Balance sheet summary | Half-year to 24 September 2022 | Half-year to 25 September 2021 | Full-year to 26 March 2022 |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| Non-pension assets – excluding cash | 85,113 | 74,213 | 81,846 |
| Non-pension liabilities – excluding borrowings | (28,986) | (19,482) | (24,613) |
| 56,127 | 54,731 | 57,233 | |
| Net IAS19 pension deficit (after deferred tax) | (9,677) | (12,835) | (9,847) |
| 46,450 | 41,896 | 47,386 | |
| Net borrowings | (12,156) | (9,637) | (12,572) |
| Equity shareholders’ funds | 34,294 | 32,259 | 34,814 |
| Gearing % – before IAS19 deficit | 28% | 21% | 28% |
| Gearing % – after IAS19 deficit | 35% | 30% | 36% |
| Capital expenditure | 2,360 | 2,877 | 6,761 |
Mark Cropper, Chairman, commented: “While short term profitability has been impacted, the decisive actions taken combined with the ongoing investments across the Group has strengthened our long term growth prospects and we fully expect to return to profitability in the next six months.”
“This Company is built on a strong heritage of innovation and a relentless focus on quality, which places us in a very strong position as we evolve and create a sustainable future.”
James Cropper Group †Purpose: Pioneering Materials to Safeguard our Future and Values: Forward Thinking, Responsible and Caring.
Enquiries:
| Steve Adams, Chief Executive Officer | Robert Finlay, Henry Willcocks, John More |
| Isabelle Maddock, Chief Financial OfficerJames Cropper PLC (AIM :CRPR.L) | Shore Capital |
| Telephone: +44 (0) 1539 722002 | Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7601 6100 |
| www.jamescropper.com | |
| Media Enquires:Anna Geffert, MDHERA Communication Strategiesanna.geffert@heracomms.com / +44 (0) 7773 046 337 |