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James Fisher & Sons PLC on Friday delayed the publication of its annual results by a month to allow additional time for it to complete discussions on its existing debt facilities. Shares in James Fisher were down 5.9% to 294.50 pence each in London on Friday morning. The stock is down 20% over the past 12 months. The Cumbria, England-based marine services provider said publication of its 2022 results will be delayed to April 28 from Tuesday next week, due to discussions with its lending banks regarding existing debt facilities with maturity dates ranging from October 2023 to September 2024. James Fisher also said it is required to resolve certain technical restrictions regarding the sale of James Fisher Nuclear Holdings Ltd earlier this month, which have been waived through to April 28. Under the agreement, several legacy parent company guarantees supporting the obligations of James Fisher Nuclear were retained by James Fisher, but this required consent under the group’s debt facilities prior to sale. This was not obtained at the time, it said. James Fisher said it was grateful for the lenders’ ‘constructive approach’ and ‘has accelerated engagement’ with them to seek a permanent solution by the end of April. In a trading update on Friday, it said 2022 underlying operating profit from continuing operations was broadly in line with 2021. It expects revenue from continuing operations to be around £475 million, up 7.4% from £442.4 million in 2021. James Fisher also said it has made an encouraging start to 2023 across January and February, in line with its expectations and above levels observed in the equivalent periods during 2022. Net debt is in line with management’s expectations, it said, benefiting from the receipt of £20 million in cash proceeds from the completed sale of Swordfish Dive Support Vessel in January. It expects to continue to de-lever its debt in the future. Before receipt of the Swordfish proceeds, James Fisher said net bank borrowings stood at £135 million on December 31, down 3.3% from £139.6 million a year earlier. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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