Hargreaves at a glance

Hargreaves Services plc delivers key projects and services in the infrastructure, energy and property sectors.


Listed on AIM (LON:HSP) and headquartered in Durham, our 2,000+ employees are spread around the world delivering a vast array of projects and services.

Our history is steeped in coal through mining, sourcing, processing and blending, moving and handling. We still have a number of operations and services in the Mining & Minerals sector and now possess one of the largest mobile plant fleets in Europe, but today Hargreaves delivers much more.

After a series of strategic acquisitions, our land portfolio across the UK has increased to in excess of 18,000 acres. Our focus now is on adding value to this land through development with residential housing and renewable energy schemes.

Whilst we still carry out our traditional activities such as industrial services and logistics, these have now broadened to incorporate renewable energy, civil engineering and land restoration and remediation.

Take a look at the various sectors we work in to find out more.

NEWS

08th Jun 2018 Pre-Close Trading Update and Notification of Interim Results
08th Sep 2017 Posting of Annual Report and Notice of AGM
15th Feb 2017 Interim Results for the six months ended 30 November 2016
22nd Dec 2016 Post-Close Trading Update and Notification of Interim Results


PRESENTATIONS/RESULTS

Feb 2018 Interim Results for the six months ended 30 November 2017
Sep 2017 Annual Report
Aug 2016 Preliminary Results for Year Ending 31 May 2016
Apr 2016 Strategic Repositioning Update - 27 April 2016
Feb 2016 Interim Results 6 months ended 30 Nov 2015
Aug 2015 Preliminary Results for Year Ending 31 May 2015
Feb 2015 Interim Results for the six months ended 30 November 2014



EVENTS
22 January 2019 General Meeting
30 January 2019 Announce Interim Results

14 December 2015

Hargreaves Services plc
("Hargreaves", "the Group" or "the Company")

Pre-Close Trading Update

Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), the UK's leading supplier of solid fuels and bulk material logistics, provides an update on trading.

Current trading conditions and the outlook in the coal and steel markets have continued to deteriorate. In addition, the continuing warm weather has added further short term volume and margin pressure across almost all of the Group's major coal markets. Whilst the Company remains in a robust position in terms of gearing and cash generation, the deterioration in the coal and steel markets will further impact trading and outlook in all three divisions.

Coal Production and Trading

In light of current thermal coal prices, the Group will be restructuring its mining plans to reduce Scottish production to circa 500,000 tonnes per annum whilst remaining committed to completing all of its current restoration schemes. In conjunction with these revised plans the Group is investing in new and enhanced coal processing facilities which will reduce to a minimum production exposure to loss-making thermal coal. The capital investment required to deliver that capability will be around £1m. The Group will incur additional charges of £1.1m in this financial year to deliver the revised and reduced mining plan.

Coal burn in the UK remains at low levels unprecedented for this time of year. There is currently no evidence that new sales demand from our coal station customers will be seen before the end of the winter and as a result we are reducing our budgeted third party sales volumes for the remainder of the year from 500,000 tonnes to a negligible level.

In the domestic heating market the unseasonably warm weather will adversely impact volumes and prices and we have reduced our profit expectations by £0.5m for the second half on the assumption that the present weather pattern persists across the balance of the year.

Profit forecasts for our Tower joint venture for the second half of the financial year have also been reduced to reflect similarly weak demand for its thermal coal and the likely impact of coal price on the uncontracted tonnage at the end of the financial year. We expect the Group's share of profit on the Tower joint venture to be reduced by £1m. The Group will continue to carefully monitor its exposure to the Tower project, where loans currently extended to the joint venture amount to £23.5m. Whilst the Group remains confident of being able to recover these balances fully under current mining plans as the mining project continues, the Board also continues to assess the risks that would be presented by an early closure of Aberthaw power station.

Industrial Services

Operating profit expectations for Industrial Services have been reduced by £1.3m. This reflects margin pressure and a significant reduction in spend by our thermal and steel customers due to the low production levels being experienced in both markets, but particularly in the UK steel sector.

Transport

Despite a strong start to the financial year, we have recently seen a marked reduction in general waste market flows following the downturn in the business of a significant North East landfill operator. This reduction in general volumes has been exacerbated by a reduction in coal movements, the low seasonal movements of rock salt and a recent decline in construction sector activity. Operating profit forecasts are being reduced by £0.5m to take account of these factors.

Net Debt

Debt at 30 November 2015 was £31.8m. Cash generation in the second half is expected to be in line with management's previous expectations, as coal and coke stocks continue to unwind and more than offset the impact of reduced trading profit.

Outlook

In these difficult markets the Group continues to take all the steps possible to mitigate major risks. All of our expectations are based on existing coal stocks being marked down to current spot market prices. The Group, including Tower, does however retain open stock positions on approximately 300,000 tonnes of coal and 80,000 tonnes of coke and we remain of the view that the cost of hedging that product outweighs the risk of further short term negative impacts on forward earnings.

The Group continues to work hard to develop value across its property portfolio and will provide an update on progress with the interim results. We would expect our first meaningful realisations in FY17.

The Group expects to report its interim results on 16 February 2016.


http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5173564

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES
29 December 2015

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased their holding above the 10% triggering point:

From 3,185,195 to 3,215,628 (10.08%) on 23 December 2015


(For information-On the HSP Website 01/09/2015 shows a holding of 2,703,375 = 8.43%)

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5183501

11 January 2016

Hargreaves Services plc
("Hargreaves", "the Group" or "the Company")

Acquisition

Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), the UK's leading supplier of solid fuels and bulk material logistics, is pleased to announce the acquisition of C A Blackwell Group Limited ("Blackwell") for a consideration of up to £11.85m. The consideration will be settled by a net cash payment of £8.5m and the transfer to the Blackwell shareholders of a property at Earls Colne with a market value of £3.35m. The property was owned by Blackwell.

Of the £8.5m net cash payment, £5.25m will be held in escrow pending the settlement of a number of historic claims and the realisation of proceeds from the disposal of two other investment properties, which will be marketed post-acquisition and have a book value of £6.5m. These property disposals are expected to be completed by 31 December 2016.

Blackwell has been operating in the field of bulk earthmoving and civil engineering for over 50 years. In addition to having a leading reputation in earthworks and civil engineering, Blackwell also operates a number of mining and quarrying services contracts. The operations of Blackwell are highly complementary to those of Hargreaves in terms of skills, experience and, critically, the equipment that they utilise. In the opinion of the Directors, the integration of Blackwell into Hargreaves creates new and exciting opportunities to deploy one of the largest heavy plant fleets in Europe within a large and well-funded Group.

Based on unaudited management accounts and forecasts, in the year ended 31 December 2015 Blackwell is expected to generate an operating profit of £3.3m on £89.0m of revenues. Included within these amounts are £1.2m of operating profit and £12.2m of revenue relating to exceptional non-recurring activity. Excluding these exceptional non-recurring profits, adjusted EBITDA for the period is expected to be approximately £4.1m.

The net assets of Blackwell at the date of acquisition after the disposal of the Earls Colne property are expected to be approximately £10.9m. The net debt of Blackwell at the date of the transaction, adjusted for normal working capital levels, was £13.0m, giving a headline enterprise value of £24.9m. After all the property disposals are completed the underlying enterprise value is expected to fall by £9.9m to £15.0m, representing an implied EV/EBITDA entry multiple for Hargreaves of approximately 3.7 times.

Gordon Banham, Chief Executive Officer of Hargreaves, commented: "The acquisition of Blackwell extends the reach of Hargreaves into the UK earthworks and civil engineering sector bringing further diversification to the Group and offering an attractive return on capital. The business is complementary to and synergistic with our existing mining operations and offers flexibility with our existing fleet of heavy plant, providing further opportunities to diversify the Group's operational focus.

"We are delighted to welcome the Blackwell team into the Group and look forward to combining our expertise to work with them on the growing market opportunities in the UK, including the enhancement and renewal of the nation's critical infrastructure."

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5190152

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES


Artemis Investment Management LLP on behalf of discretionary funds under management from 3,504,159 to 3,516,337 = 11.02%

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5196041

4 February 2016
Hargreaves Services plc
("Hargreaves" or the "Company")

Notification of Interim Results

Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), the UK's leading supplier of solid fuels and bulk material logistics, announces that it will report results for the six months ended 30 November 2015 on Tuesday 16 February 2016.

A briefing for analysts will be held at 10.00am on the morning of the results announcement at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN.

For more information, please contact Buchanan on 020 7466 5000.

http://http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5206875

SEE LINK AT BOP FOR FULL ANNOUNCEMENT:

16 February 2016
HARGREAVES SERVICES PLC
(the "Group" or "Hargreaves")

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 November 2015

KEY POINTS

· Results for the first six months reflect the widely reported pressures in the UK coal and steel markets

· As a result of continuing weak thermal coal prices and demand, and following a number of early closure announcements, the Group is taking action to reduce its exposure to thermal coal markets over the next 18 months

· Although market conditions will continue to apply pressure to profit generation in the short term, the Group is well positioned to generate substantial cash as stock and plant positions are unwound

· The acquisition of Blackwell in January 2016 is a further step toward moving the Group into new and parallel sectors

· The Group continues to evaluate and progress a range of exciting opportunities within its extensive property portfolio

· Further progress has been made in developing our Industrial Services offering into international markets

· Since the period end the extremely mild and wet weather continue to adversely impact the Group's coal production and restoration operations





Commenting on the interim results, Chairman David Morgan said:

"Market conditions in the UK coal and steel sectors remain very challenging. Given continuing weak commodity prices, low coal demand and the announcement of further coal station closures, the Board has taken the decision to reduce the Group's exposure to thermal coal markets over the next eighteen months. This follows the decisive actions taken in the past eighteen months to simplify the Group and exit markets such as coke production and trading.



"The recent acquisition of Blackwell represents an important strategic step and the ongoing development of value across the property portfolio continues to make further progress. The Board is also excited by the opportunities being presented to accelerate the development of its international presence in Industrial Services activities. The recent wet and mild weather has further impacted the Group's short term trading, curtailing coal production and restoration activities, however the Board is confident that profitability can be maintained even in the face of such severe market conditions. The Board has already taken significant steps in reducing costs and restructuring the Group and these efforts are ongoing."


http://ir1.euroinvestor.com/asp/ir/Hargreaves/NewsRead.aspx?storyid=13310354&ishtml=1

Link to historical 'Major Shareholders' page

Major Shareholders

Last Update: 1 March 2016

Securities Information

Number of Ordinary shares in issue                                 31,910,684

Percentage of AIM securities not in public hands                 46.91%

Restriction on the transfer of AIM securities                        NONE



Significant shareholders (3% or more of the ordinary share capital)

                      Name                                  Number of ordinary shares            % of issued share capital
Schroder Investment Management                      5,850,616                                        18.33%
Artemis Investment Management                         3,516,337                                        11.02%
Fidelity Management & Research Company          &nbsp3,208,568                                        10.05%
Shareholder Value Beteiligungen                          2,970,123                                        9.31%
Gordon Banham                                                 2,273,466                                        7.12%
NFU Mutual                                                        1,460,000                                        4.58%
M & G Investment Management                           1,320,444                                        4.14%

27 April 2016
Hargreaves Services plc
("Hargreaves", "the Group" or "the Company")

Strategic Repositioning and Trading Update

Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), the UK's leading supplier of solid fuels and bulk material logistics, is pleased to provide the following update on its strategic repositioning programme and recent trading.

Over the last two years Hargreaves has worked hard to position itself to face the growing challenges that have emerged in the coal and steel markets. This programme has included undertaking a far-reaching restructuring exercise aimed at simplifying the Group through disposals and business closures to reduce debt levels and to seek to mitigate the risks and volatility faced by the Group in its coal, coke and steel related activities.

Over the last year, the challenges facing the coal sector in the UK have increased due to continuing coal price weakness and low levels of coal demand arising from weak gas prices and an accelerated programme of UK coal generation plant closures. Given these continuing pressures the Board has elected to further accelerate its withdrawal from the thermal coal sector. We note the announcement by RWE released earlier this week concerning its intention to potentially cease taking delivery of Welsh coal at Aberthaw power station after March 2017. Our Interim Results Statement indicated that we were reviewing options to curtail coal production at Tower earlier than planned and that such a decision might result in a modest impairment to the value of loans the Group has extended to the joint venture. Although the RWE announcement means that curtailment of coal production may potentially be necessary even earlier than we had anticipated, we will continue to review plans and mitigation opportunities to minimise any necessary impairment of loans and continue to believe that any impairment will be modest. Recent pressures in the steel markets, including the closure of Redcar steelworks and the uncertainty over the future of Port Talbot have exacerbated the trading pressures in the UK.

Although the coal and steel sectors remain highly challenging, the Group has made significant progress in transitioning the business away from thermal coal exposure in the UK. Most of the initiatives to deliver that strategy are underway and have been clearly highlighted in our recent shareholder communications.

As this repositioning exercise nears completion, there are three separate segments of activity that are evident within the Group:

1. Continuing Long Term Core Operations;

2. Development and realisation of value from Property and Energy projects; and

3. Run-out of legacy assets into cash.

It is the intention of the Board to manage and report these activities under a new structure of segmentation to ensure that progress in each area can be easily seen. The Board believes that this will assist investors and other stakeholders in identifying the value that exists within the Group and the rate of progress being made in development activities. We expect strong value creation from our Property and Energy portfolio and significant cash generation from the run out of legacy assets, whilst our Long Term Core Operations represent a profitable and sustainable ongoing business with growth opportunities and tight capital discipline.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329319

LONG TERM CORE OPERATIONS

Consists of two segments of operations that have been identified by the Board as offering the opportunity to generate long term and sustainable profits:

1. A simplified and UK-focussed Coal Distribution operation; and

2. A diversified Services operation comprising an Industrial Services unit, a Transport unit and a Specialist Earthworks unit.


· Coal Distribution

The Group will continue to support coal distribution to speciality coal markets which the Board believes offers a continuing longer term opportunity. These markets will be served through a combination of output from the House of Water coal production site in Scotland and from imports. The Board views that these markets offer a continuing longer term opportunity. The Coal Distribution operations will be focused on the Group's Immingham and Killoch coal terminals and will be managed to maximise market share and optimise the sourcing of imported and indigenous coals from the House of Water site.

· Specialist Earthworks & Infrastructure Services

The acquisition of CA Blackwell in January has created an established platform for the Group to develop a strong long term specialist earthworks and related civil engineering operation. This acquisition offers significant plant and skills synergies and extends the Group's operations into contract mining and quarrying. The Division will control the entire Group's heavy plant, one of the largest heavy plant fleets in Europe. The greater financial strength and balance sheet of the Group will enable CA Blackwell to compete for larger contracts and opportunities. Synergies relating to the physical operation of the House of Water site will be targeted by this Division in conjunction with the Coal Distribution business. In addition, all future Scottish restoration tenders targeted by the Group will receive support from our specialist earthworks business to utilise its skills in project delivery and soils and land remediation.

· Industrial Services

As previously announced the accelerated closure program for UK coal generation capacity combined with the closure of Redcar steelworks and the commercial pressures faced by the remaining UK steel plants will result in UK operations reducing in scale over the coming eighteen months. The Group will continue to seek to grow its international opportunities. Whilst this opportunity for growth is not expected to replace the UK losses in the near term, the Board regards the Industrial Services operation as offering a positive long term business opportunity.

· Transport & Logistics Services

The Transport and Logistics operation will continue to offer UK bulk haulage services. We plan for this business unit to increase its efforts to further target road transport, recycling and disposal for the waste and construction markets, as well as the supply of aggregates. The opening of the new depot near Harlow should accelerate the development and growth of operations around the London market. The Board is confident that divisional profits can be returned to levels experienced in the prior financial year, even with the loss of bulk coal volumes.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329319

PROPERTY AND ENERGY PROJECTS

The Board has identified the opportunity to create significant medium term value and cash generation from the development of projects around the Group's extensive property portfolio. The Group controls some 18,500 acres of property in England, Scotland and Wales. Activity and investment in this portfolio has been ongoing for the last two years.

In addition to the development of value through planning gain and tenanted occupancy, the Group is also working on a number of select and potentially high-value energy related projects. This includes the development of carefully selected high wind-speed onshore wind energy projects, two energy-from-waste projects and a number of other projects and collaborations centred on the Group's electricity grid connections.

The Board is setting itself the medium term aspiration of generating between £35m and £50m of incremental value over the next five years from this portfolio of property and energy projects. By the nature of the development milestones, this gain is likely to have an uneven profile.

The investment, cash flows and gains and losses around such projects will be reported in a separate segment to allow investors to track the development of value, the capital investment and the cash realisation.

In respect of future financial reporting periods, the Group will analyse operating performance in accordance with the following simplified Divisional reporting structure:


UK Speciality Coal Distribution
Europe
Distribution

Specialist Earthworks and Infrastucture Services
Industrial Services
Transport and Logistics
Services

Property and Energy
Corporate Overheads
Group Operating Profit

To improve transparency, and reflecting the smaller size of the Group's continuing operations, segmental operations will be reported before the allocation of indirect Group overheads, with such overheads being reported separately. The Directors expect that the annual normalised charge to Group profits for central overheads will be of the order of £5.0m.

The Board's medium term aspiration is that the Group's core operations, excluding property and energy projects and before Group overheads, should deliver a trend rate of annual operating profit within the range of approximately £10-£15 million, with Services delivering approximately 60% of that figure. In view inter alia of the aspirational nature of these targets and the expected uneven profile of development gains from property and energy projects described above, it is emphasised that this aspirational target should not be treated as a forecast of operating profitability, either for any specific operating division or for the Group as a whole, for any future financial reporting period.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329319

REALISATION OF LEGACY ASSETS INTO CASH

As the Group exits from thermal coal and coke production, following the recent drop in demand, the Group is actively working on realising cash from its assets that relate to these non-core activities. In particular, these assets include:

· coal and coke stocks;

· surplus plant and equipment; and

· loans to the Tower joint venture.

The net realisable value of these assets is approximately £66m as summarised below. The Group's objective is to realise these assets into cash as quickly as possible in an orderly fashion. As these assets are held for resale they are being held in the balance sheet at the lower of cost and net realisable value. The Board expects the bulk of inventory realisations to be completed before the end of May 2017. The table below does not include a provision for any potential impairment of the Group's loans to the Tower joint venture. As noted above, the need for any impairment will continue to be evaluated over the coming weeks.


Current Indicative Legacy Balance Sheet Items as at 31 March 2016 ***See Link At BOP***

Cash generation and any gains and losses on the disposal of these assets will be reported separately to allow investors to see progress made in the realisation process.

The Board is setting the target of having completed the bulk of realisations before the end of May 2017.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329319

CURRENT TRADING UPDATE

The Board is encouraged by progress in assimilating the CA Blackwell acquisition and is pleased to announce that the business has recently been confirmed as the preferred provider for two major sections of the Government's £1.5 billion A14 improvement scheme which is part of the UK's largest road improvement programme since the 1970's. These projects provide a strong underpinning to the Division's forward order book and are expected to commence before the end of this calendar year.

Trading in Transport and Logistics remains challenging but revenues are showing signs of recovery. A lease was secured in March on a new depot near Harlow which should assist this business unit to accelerate its growth in and around the London market.

Current trading remains in line within the Industrial Services Division. The previously announced closures of a number of UK coal fired power stations will have little impact on profit in the current year beyond the establishment of redundancy provisions as previously announced. The Group is actively seeking further opportunities to reduce costs and reposition the business in light of these closures and in light of the threat over the future of the Port Talbot steelworks. The Group expects to incur a further £0.5m of restructuring costs over the coming months, assuming Port Talbot continues to operate. The Group's potential redundancy liability at Port Talbot is approximately £1.0m.

The Board remains pleased and encouraged by the progress it is making with the development of the Group's property and energy projects portfolio.

Underlying trading results in the Coal Production and Distribution Division will be further impacted by continuing soft demand in domestic coal markets that will result in a further £0.5m shortfall in the current period. The share of loss for the current year of the Tower joint venture is now likely to be £1.0m higher than expected due to the combination of lower production and sales volumes. Efforts are underway to establish a curtailed mining strategy in light of the continuing risks associated with RWE's announced plans for Aberthaw power station. We continue to evaluate the need for any impairment relating to the Group's loans to the Tower joint venture.

Efforts are also underway to accelerate the rationalisation of Scottish operations to a single site focused on speciality coal production. The early curtailment of coal mining at other sites will result in House of Water becoming the Group's single remaining Scottish coal production site. This accelerated programme to cease coal production, combined with the decision to curtail a number of development options over further sites is likely to result in further estimated exceptional cost write-offs totalling between £3.0m and £3.6m over the next three months.

The Group will continue to seek all possible overhead reduction opportunities and expects to have largely completed its restructuring before the end of this financial year. The following year is expected to be a year of consolidation.

Gordon Banham, Group Chief Executive commented, "This announcement marks an important turning point for the Group. After eighteen months of market turmoil, we are finally completing a challenging phase of restructuring to move away from our traditional areas of focus and reposition the Group. The bulk of that restructuring work is complete and we can now look forward and actively pursue the value creation opportunities ahead of us. We have protected our strong balance sheet position throughout this difficult time. Today we find ourselves with a balance sheet with net assets of around £140m and we have set ourselves the objective of turning £66m of legacy assets on that balance sheet into free cash as quickly as possible in an orderly fashion. We are also setting ourselves the aspirational goal of developing and realising £50m of incremental value from our extensive property and energy project portfolio over the next five years to further grow our net asset base. Finally, we have identified a core of business operations that offer a long term value creation opportunity and we are focused on growing operating profits and delivering strong contributions from each of these areas. Whilst risks remain in achieving our targets, the Board is confident that the Group is well placed and well equipped to deal with these challenges."

A presentation is available on the website http://www.hsgplc.co.uk/media/68267/Strategic-Repositioning-Update-27-April-2016.pdf to provide further background and explanation on this statement.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5329319

North East major employer speeds up withdrawal from ailing coal sector
08:17, 27 Apr 2016
By Coreena Ford


Gordon Banham




One of the region’s largest companies is speeding up its withdrawal from the ailing thermal coal sector amid continuing weak prices.

County Durham -based Hargreaves Services employed more than 2,700 people last summer but set in motion a redundancy and cost-saving programme after what it described as the “most challenging” times seen in its sector.

The firm – the UK’s leading supplier of solid fuel and bulk material logistics – has issued a trading update to shareholders, detailing how it has spent the last two years working hard to position itself to face the growing challenges that have emerged in the coal and steel markets.

Despite trading pressures, the firm said it’s programme to reposition itself is seeing results.

The programme has included the far-reaching restructuring exercise, aimed at simplifying the Group through disposals and business closures to reduce debt levels, while also mitigating the risks and volatility presented by its coal, coke and steel-related activities.

The statement said: “Over the last year, the challenges facing the coal sector in the UK have increased due to continuing coal price weakness and low levels of coal demand arising from weak gas prices and an accelerated programme of UK coal generation plant closures.

“Given these continuing pressures the Board has elected to further accelerate its withdrawal from the thermal coal sector.”

Earlier this week RWE announced it is joining the coal retreat and intends to potentially cease taking delivery of Welsh coal at Aberthaw power station after March 2017, effectively downgrading the station so it will only generate electricity when it is needed in winter months.

The decision directly affects Hargreaves which supplies Aberthaw from its Tower colliery – and the firm has already said it is considering cutting back on production at the site.

The statement continued: “Our Interim Results Statement indicated that we were reviewing options to curtail coal production at Tower earlier than planned and that such a decision might result in a modest impairment to the value of loans the Group has extended to the joint venture.

“Although the RWE announcement means that curtailment of coal production may potentially be necessary even earlier than we had anticipated, we will continue to review plans and mitigation opportunities to minimise any necessary impairment of loans and continue to believe that any impairment will be modest.

“Recent pressures in the steel markets, including the closure of Redcar steelworks and the uncertainty over the future of Port Talbot have exacerbated the trading pressures in the UK.

“Although the coal and steel sectors remain highly challenging, the Group has made significant progress in transitioning the business away from thermal coal exposure in the UK. Most of the initiatives to deliver that strategy are underway and have been clearly highlighted in our recent shareholder communications.

The share price rose 3% to 161.06p in early trading after the trading update was released on the stock market.


Edit-Further reports on today's news:

The original link posted this morning regarding the presentation on their website didn't work, sorted now and will amend the earlier post:

http://www.hsgplc.co.uk/media/68267/Strategic-Repositioning-Update-27-April-2016.pdf

28 April 2016
HARGREAVES SERVICES PLC
("Hargreaves" or the "Company")

Director/PDMR Shareholdings

Hargreaves Services plc ("Hargreaves" or the "Company") has today received notification that Gordon Banham (CEO), David Morgan (Chairman), Peter Jones (Non-Executive Director), and Nigel Halkes (Non-Executive Director) have earlier today purchased in aggregate 250,000 ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the Company at a price of 170p per share.

The respective individual purchases and resultant beneficial holdings of Gordon Banham, David Morgan, Peter Jones and Nigel Halkes are set out below:

***See Link Below***

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5331073

Directors buys always a good sign.

CC, Not always but along with the 'Strategic Repositioning and Trading Update' released yesterday then yes, leading to a possible good recovery stock?

Gordon Banham, Group Chief Executive commented, "This announcement marks an important turning point for the Group.

After eighteen months of market turmoil, we are finally completing a challenging phase of restructuring to move away from our traditional areas of focus and reposition the Group. The bulk of that restructuring work is complete and we can now look forward and actively pursue the value creation opportunities ahead of us.

We have protected our strong balance sheet position throughout this difficult time. Today we find ourselves with a balance sheet with net assets of around £140m and we have set ourselves the objective of turning £66m of legacy assets on that balance sheet into free cash as quickly as possible in an orderly fashion.

We are also setting ourselves the aspirational goal of developing and realising £50m of incremental value from our extensive property and energy project portfolio over the next five years to further grow our net asset base.

Finally, we have identified a core of business operations that offer a long term value creation opportunity and we are focused on growing operating profits and delivering strong contributions from each of these areas.

Whilst risks remain in achieving our targets, the Board is confident that the Group is well placed and well equipped to deal with these challenges."

http://ir1.euroinvestor.com/asp/ir/Hargreaves/NewsRead.aspx?storyid=13357385&ishtml=1

TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES

Artemis Investment Management LLP on behalf of discretionary funds under management:

Increased from 3,446,397 to 3,576,397 (11.21% indirect) on 16 June 2016

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5362545

4 July 2016
Hargreaves Services plc
("Hargreaves", "the Group" or "the Company")

Post-Close Trading Update and Notification of Preliminary Results

Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), a leading supplier of solid fuels, bulk material logistics and specialist earthworks services, provides the following update on trading ahead of its preliminary results for the year ended 31 May 2016.

Core Operations

The Group is pleased to report that trading in the run up to the year end was in line with management expectations and consequently the Group expects underlying profitability for the year ended 31 May 2016 to be in line with current market expectations.

The restructuring and repositioning of the Group's core operations continues to progress and the resulting restructuring and exceptional costs are expected to be broadly in line with previous market guidance.

Tower Joint Venture

The Group notes that since reporting its interim results on 16 February 2016, RWE has confirmed its intention to cease buying Welsh coal for its Aberthaw power station by 31 March 2016. This decision firmed up our previously announced intention to consider a shortened mining programme at our Tower joint venture. Within our interim results we stated that a shortened mining plan could result in a modest impairment of our outstanding loans to the joint venture vehicle. It is our current view that, although the equity investment values and goodwill require to be impaired as no future dividends are likely to arise, a full recovery of the loans remains achievable. The Group will continue to work with its joint venture partners to seek an optimal outcome. The impairment charge in respect of our equity investment and goodwill will be approximately £4.9m.

Brexit

The Group continues to appraise the potential impacts of Brexit. The Group is a net beneficiary of Sterling weakness due to its current stocks of largely dollar-denominated coal and coke. No revaluation gains have been booked to date, but if the current exchange rate trends continue the Group should benefit as and when these stocks are realised.

On a negative note the Group has been informed that a £7m earthworks project at a major UK port has been postponed owing to Brexit-related concerns. The current uncertainty associated with Brexit presents potential risks for our Earthworks and Logistics businesses which have a significant exposure to construction activity and capital investment projects. However, it is difficult at this stage to form a clear picture of the medium term impacts and we currently consider the risk of a downturn in private sector activity as against the potential upside from Government-sponsored public sector works to reflate the economy to be relatively finely balanced.

Notification of Preliminary Results

The Group expects to report its preliminary results for the year ended 31 May 2016 on 9 August 2016. A briefing for analysts will be held at 10.00am on the morning of the results announcement at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN. For more information on the briefing, please contact Buchanan on 020 7466 5000.

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Articles related to yesterday's trading update:

Owner of Scottish coal mines notes pros and cons of Brexit vote



HARGREAVES Services, which owns what is left of Scotland’s coal mining industry, has highlighted the benefit of the fall in the pound following the Brexit vote although this seems unlikely to stop the firm winding down most of its operations in the country.

The company has also noted the risks posed by the Brexit vote for its logistics operation, concluding that it will be some time before the overall effect on the economy of the UK voting to leave the European Union becomes clear.

In an update on recent trading, Durham-based Hargreaves said it would gain from the ten per cent plus fall in the value of the pound since the shock outcome of last week’s Brexit referendum because the coal and coke it supplies are traded in dollars.

This will mean the sterling value of sales has increased even if the price per unit sold has remained constant.

Other firms selling goods in dollars will benefit.

“The Group is a net beneficiary of Sterling weakness due to its current stocks of largely dollar-denominated coal and coke” said Hargreaves Services.

“If the current exchange rate trends continue the Group should benefit as and when these stocks are realised.”

The fall in the pound will provide some relief for Hargeaves following a period in which the price of coal has tumbled. The closure of power stations such as Longannet in Fife has weighed on demand.

In April the company said it expected to be producing coal from just one site in Scotland by the end of the summer. Six others are being wound down.

Finance director Iain Cockburn said it was not possible to produce power station coal at a profit and there was no market for it.

Yesterday the company said it expects to complete restructuring operations in line with that guidance.

It expects to recognise an impairment charge of £4.9 million in respect of the Tower joint venture in Wales after RWE confirmed it would stop buying Welsh coal for its Aberthaw plant.

Regarding the Brexit vote, the company added: “On a negative note the Group has been informed that a £7m earthworks project at a major UK port has been postponed owing to Brexit-related concerns,” without providing details.

Hargreaves said the uncertainty associated with Brexit presents potential risks for its Earthworks and Logistics businesses which have a significant exposure to construction activity and capital investment projects.

The group concluded: “It is difficult at this stage to form a clear picture of the medium term impacts and we currently consider the risk of a downturn in private sector activity as against the potential upside from Government-sponsored public sector works to reflate the economy to be relatively finely balanced.”

Hargreaves bought seven sites in Scotland from administrators of ATH and Scottish Coal in 2013.

Thermal coal prices have from around $180 a tonne in 2008 to about $50.

The House of Water site in Ayrshire will switch to producing specialist coal for the industrial and domestic market.

The other six sites range from Glenmuckloch in Dumfries and Galloway, where the firm is working on a restoration scheme with Buccleuch Estates, to Crossgates in Fife.



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