Equipment hire group HSS Hire (HSS) has been working to put its house in order, restructuring its operating model to boost efficiency, exiting onerous leases and taking impairments on property plant and equipment; a process given added impetus by a wide-ranging review, launched with the arrival of chief executive Steve Ashmore in June last year.
With the review complete, the group has settled on reducing leverage, fixing the tool hire business and strengthening the commercial proposition. The review proposed initiatives to save the group £10m-£14m a year, and management is looking at customer segmentation and changes to pricing to drive growth.
Analysts at Numis are forecasting an adjusted pre-tax loss of £1.2m, making a loss per share of 0.58p in 2018 (2017: -£15.7m, -7.4p).
HSS HIRE (HSS) | ||||
ORD PRICE: | 31p | MARKET VALUE: | £53m | |
TOUCH: | 30-31p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 69p | LOW: 20p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 43p* | NET DEBT: | £233m |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
2013 | 227 | 2.6 | 0.3 | nil |
2014 | 285 | -8.5 | -8.6 | nil |
2015 | 312 | -13.8 | -9.9 | 1.1 |
2016 | 342 | -17.4 | -11.2 | 0.6 |
2017 | 336 | -85.2 | -47.0 | nil |
% change | -2 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: | na | |||
Payment: | na | |||
*Includes intangible assets of £173m, or 101p a share. |