TIDMHVE 
 
RNS Number : 3775F 
Havelock Europa PLC 
12 January 2010 
 

 
 
 
 
12 January 2010 
 
 
HAVELOCK EUROPA PLC 
 
 
Trading Update 
 
 
Havelock (HVE.L), the Educational and Retail Interiors and Point of Sale 
Printing Group, announces a trading update for the 12 months ended 31 December 
2009. 
 
 
Severe weather in the last two weeks of November and the month of December 
caused significant disruption to trading in Havelock's Educational Interiors 
Division. 
 
 
The floods in Northern Ireland and western and south-western Scotland in the 
third week of November slowed progress on schools in three of Havelock's major 
PFI programmes, which were due to complete in 2009.  Disruption to these sites 
and many others was exacerbated by heavy snowfalls and freezing conditions 
throughout Britain for the whole of the second half of December. 
 
 
As a result, significant slippage in programmes, forecast to complete in 2009, 
occurred in the Educational Interiors Division.  There were also additional 
costs arising from aborted deliveries to construction sites and unrecovered 
labour costs for site installation teams who were unable to complete projects. 
 
 
Reference was made in the Interim Management Statement on 17 November 2009 to 
the costs and operational issues arising from the integration of the Educational 
and Retail Interiors Divisions. It is now expected that the costs associated 
with these issues will be greater than originally anticipated.  Significant 
progress has been made in solving the IT and other operational issues, and the 
benefits of this progress will become apparent towards the end of the first 
quarter of 2010. 
 Notwithstanding a strong performance within the supplies and classroom 
accessories businesses, the estimated impact of the weather related factors and 
the operational issues referred to above is likely to reduce the expected 
contribution from the Educational Interiors Division by approximately GBP1.6 
million. 
 
 
The Point of Sale Printing Division also had a slower November and December than 
expected due to a much lower level of promotional activity by retailers in the 
run up to Christmas than has been experienced in the previous two years. 
 
 
In addition to the cost savings arising from integrating the Retail and 
Educational Interiors Divisions, announced at the time of the Interim Results in 
August 2009, further costs saving opportunities have been identified in the 
Group's other businesses and the costs of implementing these additional savings, 
amounting to approximately GBP500,000 over and above GBP2.7 million exceptional 
costs identified at the time of the Interim Results, will also be treated as 
exceptional costs in 2009. 
 
 
Overall, the Company anticipates that the Group's results for 2009 are likely to 
be significantly below current market expectations, although it still expects to 
report an operating profit before exceptional costs and interest. 
 
 
The Group's bankers have been kept fully informed of the situation and are 
supportive.  The company is currently discussing revised terms for its 
facilities and has obtained from its bank a waiver of the year end interest 
cover convenant test. 
 
 
Although the Board is not expecting a return to normal trading conditions in 
2010, particularly in the Retail sector, the cost savings generated from the 
integration of the Group's Retail and Educational Interiors businesses, together 
with a realistic expectation of orders for the year ahead, continues to give the 
Board reason to believe that there will be an improvement in trading in 2010. 
 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
| Enquiries:                             |                                | 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
| Havelock Europa PLC                    |                  01383-820 044 | 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
| Hew Balfour (Chief Executive)          |                  07801-683 851 | 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
| Grant Findlay (Finance Director)       |                  07768-745 960 | 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
| Bankside Consultants Limited           |                                | 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
| Charles Ponsonby                       |                  020-7367 8851 | 
|                                        |                                | 
+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
 TSTDGGDBCGBBGGB
Havelock Europa (LSE:HVE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024 Click Here for more Havelock Europa Charts.
Havelock Europa (LSE:HVE)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024 Click Here for more Havelock Europa Charts.