Ricardo plc - Preliminary results for the full year ended 30 June 2019

HIGHLIGHTS

• A resilient performance, demonstrating the development of the business and the success of diversification across sectors and geographies
• Strong growth in Performance Products and Energy & Environment in particular, offset a very challenging year in our European and US Automotive businesses
• Order intake robust at £386m, compared to £413m in FY 2017/18 and £366m in FY 2016/17
• Order book increased to £314m, up £19m on June 2018
• Revenue up 2% to £384.4m on FY 2017/18
• Underlying PBT similar to prior year at £37.0m (FY 2017/18: £37.5m)
• Record McLaren engine deliveries and ABS production commenced
• Two Australian acquisitions in Rail and Energy & Environment (May 2019 and July 2019, respectively)
• Net debt at £47.4m, including £22.4m acquisition costs (June 2018 Net debt: £26.1m)
• Dividend increased by 4% to 21.28p from 20.46p
• Current political and economic uncertainties aside, we are well positioned for growth from a strong, diversified order book and pipeline, recurring revenue from long-term production programmes and the benefit of recent acquisitions

(*)  Comparative financial information for FY 2017/18 has been restated for the transitional impact of adopting IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers from 1 July 2018 and is presented on a like-for-like basis with FY 2018/19. The impact of the restatement is a reduction in revenue and profit before tax of £1.5m, basic earnings per share of 2.2p and a £7.0m cumulative increase in order book, as set out in Note 9(a).
(1) Underlying measures exclude the impact on statutory measures of specific adjusting items as set out in Note 3, comprised of amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £4.0m (FY 2017/18: £4.3m), acquisition-related expenditure of £1.8m (FY 2017/18: £1.4m), reorganisation costs of £3.4m (FY 2017/18: £4.8m) and the non-recurring impact of the equalisation of Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (‘GMPs’) of £1.3m (FY 2017/18: derecognition of net deferred tax assets of £2.2m). Underlying measures are considered to provide a more useful indication of underlying performance and trends over time.
(2) Underlying earnings also exclude a tax credit to statutory earnings of £1.6m (FY 2017/18: £0.9m) for the specific adjusting items in Footnote 1 and as set out in Note 3.
(3) Excludes the performance of current year acquisitions (Transport Engineering, see Note 6) from the results of FY 2018/19 and includes the performance of prior year acquisitions (Control Point Corporation) in the results of FY 2017/18 to give a like-for-like change in the results.

 Commenting on the results, Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer said:
“In this financial year, Ricardo managed to deliver an increase in revenue and order book overall, despite a very turbulent backdrop in Automotive. This was driven by strong growth in Performance Products and Energy & Environment in particular. We successfully expanded in Australia, with the acquisition of Transport Engineering in May 2019 to support our Rail business, and PLC Consulting in July 2019 to broaden our Environmental consulting offering. We continue to invest in technologies, services and digital products to aid our blue-chip clients – together we create sustainable solutions to address the key issues of climate change, air quality, global stability and the management of scarce natural resources.

We deliver services and products to help build a cleaner, safer and more sustainable world – in essence, creating a world fit for the future. The demand for innovative solutions in the markets and geographies we serve, together with our diverse portfolio of businesses, gives us confidence in Ricardo’s continued success.”

Further enquiries:
Ricardo plc
Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer / Ian Gibson, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 01273 455611

Newgate Communications LLP
Adam Lloyd / Zoë Sibree / Ian Silvera / Megan Kovach
Tel: 020 7680 6550
E-mail: ricardo@newgatecomms.com