Delays and extra costs to keep Filta earnings flat in H2
Filta was under the cosh on Tuesday after the commercial kitchen services provider said earnings for the second half were set to be in line with the first due to delays and extra costs.
Filta Group Holdings
170.00p
16:35 23/03/22
FTSE AIM All-Share
745.29
16:54 18/04/24
In a trading update for the year to the end of December 2019, the company said progress in its fats, oil and grease management (FOG) businesses has been slower than expected in second half.
Filta said it had been necessary to divert resource to catch up on an order backlog in the businesses and a small amount of installation work, which had been expected in the fourth quarter, has been delayed into 2020. In addition, over the last three months, the group has invested in extra personnel to maximise the opportunities in the UK.
As a result of the delays and extra costs, it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the second half to be similar to the first.
Nevertheless, Filta expressed confidence over the outlook for 2020 as North American and Europe operations perform strongly and amid continued UK revenue growth.
Chief executive officer Jason Sayers said: "With completion of the Watbio integration in sight and our franchise operations performing well across all territories, 2020 is set to be a year of significant progress for the business. We shall update the market further in due course."
At 1510 GMT, the shares were down 23% at 148p.