Has Speedy hire turned the corner?
It's looking interesting. Any thoughts?
Takeover time?

Trading Statement on 26th March.

Might be worth a punt, though no knowing what the figures are going to look like before the 26th. Could go either way, imo. We know there is going to be a £3m write down, but wonder if there is more bad news from the International Div? They were also in breach of certain covenants, which seems to have fallen out of the news.

I've enjoyed the recent run, but am out and watching as of this morning.

HC and skinny, I agree. See my comment on the DTY thread.

Final Results

Financial Highlights
• Revenue up 2.9% to £349.7m (2013: £340.0m#)
• Trading performance impacted by EBITA* loss of £4.3m in the International Division
• EBITA* for the remainder of the Group up 11.9% to £26.4m (2013: £23.6m)
• Adjusted profit before tax * down 4.6% to £14.6m (2013: £15.3m#)
• International Division creates drag on ROCE which is down to 7.0% (2013: 7.5%#)
• Group ROCE (excluding International) up to 9.5% (2013: 8.5%#)
• Dividend increased by 15% to 0.61 pence per share (2013: 0.53 pence per share)
* Before amortisation and exceptional costs.
# Restated.

Trading and Operational Highlights to 31 March 2014
• Q4 UK & I revenue growth of 4.9% (before planned disposals) reflecting progress throughout the year
• Strong performance in new contract wins: Babcock, National Grid, Northern Gas Networks
• Network programme accelerated with completion of Glasgow Multi Service Centre and 6 new superstores
• Middle East investigation complete
• New CEO and refreshed UK and Middle East management teams in place

Trading and Operational Highlights Post Year End
• Trading has started well building on Q4 FY2014 progress
• Preferred bidder status announced for Balfour Beatty Tier 1 Contract
• New relationship established and contracts won with Skanska
• Customer focus broadened to capture potential offered by regional markets

May 13:

Investec: Buy - New TP: 100p

Cantor: Sell - TP: 51p

Classic bullish engulfing candle atm.

Support at 50p? Might be tempted at that level.

July 4: Panmure reiterates: Buy - TP unchanged: 68p.

StockMarketWire.com
Speedy Hire said at a group level its revenue rose 15.7% on the year for the three months to 30 June 2014. Economic and market conditions in our core markets continue to show signs of improvement, and the positive revenue trends are in line with management expectations.

In the UK & Ireland Division, about 94% of group revenues, the strategy of focusing on core hire, specialist solutions and complementary services, combined with an equal focus on all of our customer groups has delivered revenue growth of 15.6% (10.7% before planned disposals) over the same period in the prior year.

"We have now fully mobilised our contract with Babcock announced in February and we are progressing the award as a Preferred Bidder for a Tier 1 contract with Balfour Beatty," said chairman Ishbel Macpherson in an interim management statement.

"In addition we have won a number of new contracts with major customers. At a regional level the 'Own City' campaigns are already beginning to make a meaningful contribution to the Group," Macpherson said.

"Whilst it is early days, we have seen good progress in all our target cities, in London and Manchester in particular we have seen growth over the same period in the prior year of 18.9% and 17.2% respectively. Additionally, our Partnered Services Division grew by 50.8% over the same period in the prior year, a result of our Integrated Services Strategy.£

The new UK & Ireland senior management team is now in place. The reconfiguration of the depot network has seen the successful delivery of two further superstores (Coventry and Aberdeen). Further sites have now been secured and development works started as part of the accelerated plan to complete the network.

The new management team in the International Division is now embedded and continues to deliver on the business' key contracts. The key focus of this team is to return the Division to profitability.

"I am pleased to report that the Company has worked hard to focus on the opportunities arising throughout the UK, and Speedy is in a good position to exploit the numerous opportunities for growth that are emerging as the market continues to recover. The Board is therefore confident that the Group is on track to deliver results for the full year in line with its expectations."

SDY speeeding up now. Missed the surge.

Refinancing of Funding Arrangements
Speedy, the UK's leading tools, equipment, plant hire and services company, operating in the construction, infrastructure and industrial markets, announces that it has completed a refinancing of its funding arrangements, which were due to mature in August 2015.

With effect from 17 September 2014, the Group has secured a new £180 million 5-year asset-based revolving facility at an improved margin and with an agreement in place to support additional funding requirements in the future.

Commenting on the refinancing, Mark Rogerson, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are delighted to have concluded this refinancing ahead of schedule and on improved terms reflecting our bankers' confidence in the business. Alongside our ongoing focus on cash generation, the new facility will provide us with the flexibility to support our strategy for growth."

Trading statement tomorrow.

Speedy Hire says H1 a good overall start to year

Speedy Hire said its H1 produced a good overall start to the year with activity levels in the UK & Ireland significantly higher on the year, and that it is on track to deliver FY results in line with the board's expectations.

It expected H1 revenues to be up by about 11% on the year, reflecting the continued growth of the business, which was underpinned by a strong performance from Partnered Services.

A number of contracts were won during the period and levels of contract bidding remain high.

In the International Division, revenues were up by approximately 31%on the year. The remedial actions implemented in the Middle East by the new management team are having a positive effect on the business albeit the flow through to profitability is taking longer than expected.

Some impressive buys here but trending down at the moment . What's going on experts.SCSW gave an attractive BUY last saturday.

StockMarketWire.com
Speedy Hire said despite a challenging year in the Middle East, ongoing strong performance of the Group in the UK gives directors confidence its FY results will be in line with its expectations.

Inclusive of the third quarter, revenues for the first 9 months of the year increased by 9.9% on the same period last year.

The network optimisation programme is on track to be completed ahead of schedule by the end of the financial year with the Group's new National Distribution Centre (NDC) in Tamworth now operational.

The NDC and 8 UK Multi-Service Centres will serve as hubs within the Group's national network delivering greater efficiencies in distribution, engineering and repair and asset utilisation.

In the Middle East good progress has been made on the accelerated restructuring of the business and withdrawal from general hire.

This has been done to stem losses and build value in the remaining Oil and Gas services business where the mobilisation of major contracts is now all but complete.

MIDAS-SHARE-TIPS-Speedy-Hire-tools-stage-rapid-recovery.

StockMarketWire.com
Speedy Hire expects to announce revenue in line with market expectations, and adjusted profit before tax slightly ahead of market expectations, reaffirming the strength of its strategic and major customer relationships.

In the UK, a new National Distribution Centre in Tamworth is open and the programme to create a backbone to the national network comprising 8 Multi-Service Centres and 38 superstores has been completed ahead of the original schedule.

A programme to re-profile asset holdings and redistribute assets across the network is now underway; this will enable the Business to improve asset utilisation and operational efficiency during the coming year.

In the Middle East, where the Group has incurred substantial losses, Speedy has completed its withdrawal from the general hire business; its offices in Egypt and Qatar have been closed and the Oman business sold.

The newly restructured Oil and Gas Services Business broke even in the final month of the fiscal year and the Group is in discussions with a potential purchaser to sell this business. Regardless of the outcome of any negotiations, the Middle East business has been significantly de-risked.

Speedy, the UK's leading tools, equipment and plant hire services company, operating across the construction, infrastructure and industrial markets, announces results for the year ended 31 March 2015.

Strategic Update:
Fixing the Business
· Completed exit from general and spot hire in Middle East: process underway for sale of remaining business
· UK Sales & Marketing function re-structured delivering strong strategic customer growth
· Network Optimisation Programme completed ahead of schedule
· Implementation of new IT and MIS complete
· Re-established culture of; Safety; Governance; Service; and People Engagement

Improving Performance
· Radically enhanced sales and marketing function in place to grow core hire
· Asset Optimisation Programme making good progress to improve asset utilisation
· Cost efficiency plans accelerating

Transforming the Company
· Developing a broader range of complementary services to meet customer demand
· Significant opportunities to re-engage with Regional/Local market segment through Express network
· Further opportunities to deliver enhanced profit growth


Commenting on the results, Jan Åstrand, Chairman, said:

"I am delighted to report on a year of significant progress at Speedy. It is particularly pleasing that, despite all the challenges the Company has had to face, we have today reported a strong set of results.

"Shortly after he was appointed CEO, Mark Rogerson set out a clear plan to return the Group to health and build sustainable profit growth. Mark and his new leadership team have made significant progress, and whilst there is much to do, there is further opportunity to improve the business.

"In the Middle East, having completed the exit from general and spot hire ahead of schedule, discussions are underway regarding the disposal of the oil and gas services operations, our last remaining asset in the region.

"We can now turn our focus to developing the business in the UK where there are major opportunities ahead through further professionalising our sales and marketing activity supported by improvements in cost management and asset utilisation.

"We are, once again, in a position to deliver sustainable profit growth and our confidence for the future is underpinned by an increase in the recommended final dividend."

Figures is the important thing .........

Results for the year ended 31 March 2015
Path to Sustainable Profit Growth

Financial Highlights

Year ended Year ended Change
31 March 31 March
2015 2014
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
(GBPm) (GBPm) %
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
Group revenue* 375.0 349.7 +7.2
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
UK & Ireland 351.3 328.1 +7.1
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
International 23.7 21.6 +9.7
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
Group EBITDA* 72.7 68.7 +5.8
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
Group EBITA* 26.4 22.1 +19.5
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
UK & Ireland 37.4 32.7 +14.4
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
International (5.6) (4.3)
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
Adjusted* PBT 21.9 14.6 +50.0
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
ROCE* 8.0% 7.0% +100bps
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
Earnings per share* (pence) 3.23p 2.05p +57.6
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------
Dividend for the year (pence per
share) 0.70p 0.61p +14.8
---------------------------------- ----------- ----------- --------

* before amortisation and exceptional items