Van Elle Holdings plc

('Van Elle', the 'Company' or the 'Group')

Trading Update

Notice of Results

Analyst Briefing & Investor Presentation

Van Elle Holdings plc (AIM: VANL), the UK's largest ground engineering contractor, today provides a trading update for the year ended 30 April 2022 (the 'Period') ahead of announcing its full-year results, which are expected to be released on Wednesday 3 August 2022.

The Board is pleased to report the elevated levels of demand in Van Elle's core markets detailed in the Interim Results in January continued through the second half of the year. Consequently, the Group now expects to report results for the Period ahead of the recently upgraded forecasts, with revenues of approximately £125m. This represents an increase of approximately 48% (a 41% increase after adjusting for the impact of the acquisition of ScrewFast Foundations Limited) compared with the prior year (FY2021: £84.4m), with operating profits slightly ahead of the top end of the range of market expectations.

This continued demand is reflective across the Group's divisions. As anticipated, there has been an increase in work delivered within the Rail division, and volumes across Housing, Specialist Piling and General Piling have remained consistent. Supply chain challenges are showing some signs of moderating, with the impact of material price inflation being managed through contract pricing mechanisms.

The Group can report continued momentum on its bidding programme aligned to its target growth markets, including the signing of the 10-year Smart Motorways Programme Alliance (SMPA) framework and a new contract award in the energy sector within General Piling, which represents its largest single award since the outset of the pandemic, at approximately £8.0m, for which work is expected to commence in May 2022.

Cash generation in the second half was strong, with cash at the Period end of £7.0m (31 October 2021: £6.3m), and net funds (excl. IFRS 16 lease liabilities) increasing to £5.9m (31 October 2021: £3.5m).

The Group's order book at 30 April 2022 was £39.0m (£39.1m at 31 December 2021), which excludes the SMPA framework and recent contract award noted above.

The Board is pleased with progress made in the second half of FY22. The trading momentum has continued into FY23 while future prospects in its growth markets remain encouraging. The Board is therefore increasingly confident of achieving its mid-term financial targets of 7-8% operating profit and 15-20% ROCE.

Notice of Results:

Van Elle expects to announce its full-year results on Wednesday 3 August 2022. 

Analyst Briefing: 9.30am, Wednesday 3 August 2022

A briefing for Analysts will be held at 9.30am on the morning of the results.  Analysts interested in attending should contact Walbrook PR on vanelle@walbrookpr.com or 020 7933 8780.

Investor Presentation: 3.30pm, Wednesday 3 August 2022

Mark Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, and Graeme Campbell, Chief Financial Officer, will hold a presentation to review the results and outlook at 3.30pm on 3 August 2022. The presentation will be hosted through the digital platform Investor Meet Company.

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet Van Elle Holdings plc via the following link https://www.investormeetcompany.com/van-elle-holdings-plc/register-investor. Investors who have already registered and added to meet the Company will automatically be invited. 

Questions can be submitted pre-event to vanelle@walbrookpr.com or in real time during the presentation via the "Ask a Question" function.

For further information, please contact:

About Van Elle Holdings plc:

Van Elle Holdings is the UK's largest specialist geotechnical engineering contractor. The Company provides a range of ground engineering techniques and services including - ground investigation, general and specialist piling, rail geotechnical engineering, modular foundations, and ground improvement and stabilisation services.

Van Elle operates through three divisions: general piling, specialist piling and ground engineering; and is focused on three end markets: residential and housing, infrastructure and regional construction - across which the Group has completed more than 20,000 projects over the last 35 years.

General piling provides a range of larger piling and ground engineering solutions for open-site construction projects. Specialist piling provides a range of geotechnical solutions in operationally constrained environments including on-track rail applications. Ground engineering services offers a range of ground investigation and geotechnical services and modular foundation solutions such as Smartfoot®. Van Elle has a market-leading reputation and the UK's largest rig fleet of 115 rigs.

Having floated on AIM in 2016 it now has a strong national presence, diversified offering and market-leading brand name.