Johnson Service Group expects FY results in line with forecasts

Textile services provider Johnson Service Group said on Wednesday that it had continued to trade in line with internal expectations since the publication of its interim results in September, with the firm now expecting to report full-year results in line with forecasts.

Johnson Service stated workwear volumes had remained similar to those seen in August, at 98% of normal levels, with workwear revenue for the ten months to 31 October coming to £107.1m, a modest decline when compared to the £107.6m reported at the same time in 2020, as its sales team returned from furlough focussed on new to rental sales.

Food service and hotel industries volumes also remained at a similar level to August, at over 80% of normal, despite markets like contract catering and airport hotel locations not yet returning to normal and continuing to lag behind restaurants and hotels.

The AIM-listed group said food service and hotel industries revenues for the ten months to 31 October was £107.1m, up from £90.1m a year ago, whilst organic revenue in the four months to 31 October was up 79.2% compared to 2020 and down 14.6% compared to 2019.

Johnson Service also highlighted that in line with all businesses across the UK, it had seen inflationary pressure on its cost base and was taking action to mitigate the impact.

"We have reacted to the challenges of the labour market to ensure that we have the correct level of resources to cope with the current and expected demand over the coming months. Addressing this has, however, had an impact on the cost of production," said JSG.

Looking forward, Johnson Service stated that in the absence of any new Covid-19 restrictions affecting the hospitality sector this year, it expect pre-tax profits to be in line with the market expectations, while revenue was expected to "slightly out-perform" and offset additional cost pressures.

As of 1040 GMT, Johnson Service shares were up 0.94% at 128.20p.