Worthington Nicholls to make further acquisitions

(19/01/2007)

Worthington Nicholls Group plc has announced preliminary results for the period ended 30 September 2006.

Financial and business highlights:
* Pro forma annualised turnover of £25 million
* Pro forma annualised operating profit of £3.67 million
* Dividend of 0.4 pence per ordinary share to be paid on 30 March 2007
* Admitted to AIM in June 2006, raising £7.5 million of new capital and £12.5 million of replacement capital from institutional and other investors
* In December 2006, completed a further placing raising £6 million of new capital towards identified acquisitions
* Acquired Project Air Limited and Lumenglow Limited
* Pipeline of new business for 2007 currently at £28.5 million with live tenders for £67 million worth of additional business

Peter Worthington, Chairman of Worthington Nicholls, said: “With the monies raised in the share placings, we now have in place the financial resources to make further acquisitions. Indeed, we are currently looking closely at a number of identified targets. Our focus is on companies operating in our main hotel market sector but we will also look to reduce shareholder risk through diversification into additional sectors, as we demonstrated with the acquisition of Project Air Limited, which strengthened our penetration in the retail sector.

“Working in Europe is also likely to be increasingly strategically important to the Group as we expand. Having already secured our first European contract we will look to take advantage of further opportunities as they arise. We look forward to 2007 with confidence and great excitement, and believe it will be a year in which we make further strong progress.”

Related categories:  Financial results