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Industrial and property service provider Hargreaves Services said it expected underlying operating profit to grow in line with market expectations amid improved trading within its businesses.
For the year ended 31 May 2019, the company said it expected revenue and underlying operating profit to show growth, as a result of improved trading within the group's wholly owned businesses, with underlying operating profit expected to be in line with current market expectations.
Expectations for underlying operating profit, however, do not include the impact of the provisions made following the insolvency events of Wolf Minerals (UK) Limited in October 2018 and British Steel in May 2019, which would be reported as exceptional items, the company said. Net debt at the year end was £17.9m, compared to £30.8m as at 31 May 2018.
During the year, conditional sale agreements had been exchanged in respect of the first two plots at the group's key residential development site, Blindwells, near Edinburgh. The value of these two transactions, which were expected to reach legal completion in the year ending 31 May 2020 was over £10m, the company added.
'These contract successes demonstrate the positive momentum behind the Blindwells development and contribute to the Board's confidence in the Group's future trading prospects,' Hargreaves Services said.
The Group expected to report preliminary results for the year ended 31 May 2019 on Wednesday 31 July 2019.