Trading Statement

6 March 2019

Biffa plc

PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE

 TRADING IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS

Biffa plc ('Biffa' or 'the Group'), the UK's leading integrated waste management company, today issues a trading update ahead of its announcement of results for the 52 weeks ending 29 March 2019, scheduled for 5 June 2019.

Trading in the second half of the year, and therefore for the full year, is anticipated to be in line with the Board's expectations. Biffa has continued to deliver organic and acquisitive Net Revenue growth in the trading period which will result in Underlying EBITDA growth for the full year.

The Industrial & Commercial division has continued to deliver organic growth, underpinned by pricing discipline and reduced customer churn, together with further acquisitive growth. The acquisition pipeline continues to remain strong. 

As anticipated, the Resource Recovery & Treatment division has significantly improved versus the second half of last year with a strong operational performance and commodity prices improving. Planning permission has been received for the PET plastic bottle recycling site in Seaham, County Durham and we expect the plant to be fully commissioned and operational by April 2020.

As communicated at the half year, trading performance in the Municipal division has stabilised and the Energy division has continued to perform in line with expectations.

The Group continues to advance its plans to invest in Energy from Waste plants, in a joint venture with Covanta. Arrangements for financing, operations and maintenance and waste supply are substantially complete. Progress is also being made in aligning environmental permits and negotiating with the short-listed Engineering, Procurement and Construction build contractors. Financial close is not expected before the announcement of the Group's full year results on 5 June, at which time a more detailed update on the projects will be provided. 

The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with net debt in line with our expectations.

The Board remains confident in the Group's strategy, commercial outlook and ongoing trading performance.

Enquiries:

Michael Topham, Chief Executive Officer

Richard Pike, Chief Financial Officer

ir@biffa.co.uk

Instinctif Partners        +44 (0) 20 7457 2020

Mark Garraway            +44 (0) 7771 860 938

James Gray                +44 (0) 7583 936 031

biffa@instinctif.com

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to the usual risk factors and uncertainties associated with Biffa's business. Whilst Biffa believes the expectations reflected herein to be reasonable in light of the information available to them at this time, the actual outcome may be materially different owing to factors beyond Biffa's control or within Biffa's control where, for example, Biffa decides on a change of plan or strategy. Accordingly, no reliance may be placed on the figures contained in such forward-looking statements.

About Biffa

Biffa is a leading UK-based integrated waste management business. The Group operates across the breadth of the waste management value chain, including the collection, treatment, processing and disposal of waste and recyclable materials, as well as related work in the production and sale of energy derived from waste and the sale of recovered commodities such as paper, glass, metals and plastic. Biffa's customer base for these services includes local authorities (which includes the collection of waste from households), large corporates and SMEs, and purchasers of end-product commodities and energy. The Group's services are organised across four operating divisions: Industrial & Commercial; Municipal; Resource Recovery & Treatment (RR&T); and Energy. In FY 2018, the Group's total revenue was £1,076.7 million and its Underlying EBITDA was £150.0 million. Biffa was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities in October 2016 under the ticker "BIFF".

For more information visit www.biffa.co.uk