Company Announcements

Operational review of Lowri Beck

Source: RNS
RNS Number : 3014Q
Calisen plc
18 June 2020
 

Calisen plc

Operational review of Lowri Beck

Calisen plc ("Calisen" and together with its subsidiaries the "Group") has today announced plans for a restructuring of its Lowri Beck business unit designed to make it a leaner, more efficient and sustainable business.

Lowri Beck was a capability enhancing acquisition made by the Group in August 2019, to enable it to provide meter installation services to the rapidly growing independent energy supplier segment. Calisen and Lowri Beck had worked together for a number of years, meaning the business was well known at the point of acquisition, including that it was loss-making at the operating level, a trend that continued into the first quarter of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic halted meter installations. A new leadership team has been in place since the beginning of the year and has undertaken a full review of the business model and operations. This review has concluded that structural changes must be made in order to ensure the long-term viability of the Lowri Beck business.  Though some restructuring was anticipated at the time of initial public offering, the coronavirus pandemic has made the review more urgent and accelerated the requirement for change.

The plans announced today, are expected to result in Lowri Beck achieving at least break-even at an EBITDA level in FY 2021 and making a positive contribution to the Group in the medium term. It is also expected to lead to a reduction of up to 250 full time equivalent roles throughout Great Britain. Lowri Beck will start a consultation on the expected reduction in roles from today.

A restructuring reserve of approximately £4 million will be recorded in the Group's accounts for the half-year to 30 June 2020 which are due to be published on 4 August.

Commenting, Calisen CEO Bert Pijls said:

"Since the new Lowri Beck leadership team was put in place at the start of the year, we have focused on identifying the best path forward for the business to return to profitability while preserving as many jobs as possible. The impact of the pandemic has accelerated our thinking as our meter installations have been paused over the last few months, however, the structural challenges to the business have existed for some time. It has become clear that there are areas in which we lack critical mass, so we must become leaner and more efficient to ensure that the business is sustainable in the longer term.

"Lowri Beck does important work, helping our customers, and those whose homes we install meters in, playing a vital role in improving household budgeting and contributing to the development of a cleaner, more efficient and sustainable energy segment. The measures we are proposing are important to secure a sustainable future for Lowri Beck and its team of engineers, meter readers and support staff."

Media enquiries

Finsbury (public relations adviser to Calisen)

Dorothy Burwell / Harry Worthington

+44 7733 294 930 / +44 7818 526 556

Calisen-LON@finsbury.com

 

Investor and analyst enquiries

Calisen investor relations:

Adam Key, Investor Relations Director
Tel: +44 161 220 1900 / Mob: +44 7572 231453
adam.key@calisen.com

This announcement has been determined to contain inside information.

This announcement includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Group's control and all of which are based on the Directors' current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "guidance", "believe", "expects", "may", "will", "could", "should", "shall", "risk", "intends", "estimates", "aims", "plans", "predicts", "continues", "assumes", "positioned", "targets" or "anticipates" or the negative thereof, other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the Directors or the Group concerning, among other things, the results of operations, financial condition, prospects, growth, strategies, and dividend policy of the Group and the industry in which it operates. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing the Group. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to vary materially from the future results indicated, expressed, or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement.

 


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