Revenue down but earnings grow at PHSC

Health, safety, hygiene and environmental consulting company PHSC said on Thursday that unaudited management accounts for the year ended 31 March showed consolidated group revenue of £3.29m, down from £4.44m year-on-year.

The AIM-traded firm said underlying EBITDA totalled £0.52m for the year, rising from £0.26m year-on-year, and at year-end, its unaudited net asset value per share was about 35.42p.

Revenues for the second half came in at £1.92m, representing an improvement on first half revenues which were £1.38m as the group adapted to changes in the economic environment caused by Covid-19.

Similarly, it said there was an improvement in EBITDA to around £0.34m in the second half from £0.18m in the first.

The group said it was “heavily reliant” on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the first half, but less so in the second, with income under that scheme along with grant funding totalling £0.44m for the year.

“The group’s health and safety division saw increased activity over the financial year in certain operational segments, such as risk assessment, but was unable to service many clients in the leisure and education sectors due to the requirement for their premises to close or to operate at a reduced capacity as a result of Covid-19 restrictions,” the board said in its statement.

“Our management systems subsidiary remained profitable despite reduced revenues.

“The security division, which is primarily a supplier to the retail sector, continued to suffer as a consequence of lockdown and the closure of non-essential retail, however, with grant funding and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme contribution, it was able to operate at breakeven.”

There were also certain corporate failures of clients including Debenhams and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which resulted in the write-off of certain amounts due to the group.

Current bank balances as at 12 May stood at £1.2m, PHSC said, providing the group with a “strong” cash position.

PHSC said it was expecting to announce its final results for the year ended 31 March by the end of August.

“The group will continue to keep all Covid-19-related measures under review, prioritising the safety of all of its stakeholders and will provide any further updates as appropriate.”

At 1151 BST, shares in PHSC were up 27.71% at 17.88p.