HSS Hire narrows losses in first half

Tool and equipment hire company HSS Hire said on Thursday that it had narrowed its losses in the first half thanks to a stronger underlying performance and lower exceptional costs.

In the 26 weeks to 29 June, losses before tax narrowed to £7.4m from £10.2m in the first half of last year, while revenue rose 3.9% to £161.4m. This was driven by an improvement in its rental and service businesses, which saw revenues grow 1.1% and 10.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile, gross exceptional costs fell to £2.8m during the half from £3.2m in 2018.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 10.9% higher at £27m and total basic earnings per share were 4.44p versus a loss of 4.45p in the first half of last year.

Chief executive officer Steve Ashmore said: "I am pleased to report a solid performance for the first half of 2019 in which the continued focus on driving profitable revenue growth through strong price control and effective cost management led to a significant improvement in return on capital and a further reduction in leverage.

"The widely reported headwinds in the economy have affected the tool hire market but HSS is well placed to manage these more challenging conditions. We have taken additional action to further optimise our operating cost base and have a clear strategy to build upon our existing excellent market positions, leaving us well placed to continue to grow share in all of our markets."

At 1040 BST, the shares were down 0.2% at 31.43p.