Stobart Group Limited AGM Statement (5038J)
29 June 2017 - 4:01PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSTOB
RNS Number : 5038J
Stobart Group Limited
29 June 2017
Stobart Group Limited
29 June 2017
STOBART GROUP LIMITED
('Stobart Group' or 'the Group')
AGM Statement
Stobart Group, the infrastructure and support services group,
will hold its Annual General Meeting ('AGM') today at 12.00 p.m. at
St Pierre Park Hotel, St Peter Port, Guernsey.
At the meeting, the Board of Stobart Group will make the
following statement.
We remain on track to deliver our targets of 2.5m passengers at
London Southend Airport and 2m tonnes of biomass supply annually,
by the end of calendar year 2018. We have also established extended
targets to 2022 and we are confident that we can continue to
deliver value to shareholders through this period and beyond.
Since 1 March 2017 we have generated cash of GBP159.7m from two
transactions. In April 2017, we realised GBP113.3m of cash
following the IPO of Eddie Stobart Logistics and retained a 12.5%
shareholding in the AIM-listed business which was valued at
GBP71.5m on flotation. The total value generated represented a
significant uplift of over GBP120m on the year-end balance sheet
value. Also in April 2017, we completed a sale and leaseback of
eight ATR aircraft in our leasing company, realising GBP46.4m of
cash. These transactions have provided the business with further
cash resources to support the dividend and to invest in creating
further value across our divisions.
Dividend
We reported, last month, a proposed final dividend of 4.5p
payable on 7 July 2017, subject to shareholder approval at today's
AGM, bringing the total dividend for the year to 13.5p per
share.
The Board reaffirms its intention to maintain the increased
level of quarterly dividend payments to reflect the cash generation
of the Group. The Board expects to pay a dividend of 4.5p per
quarter, starting from 7 July 2017, representing an annualised
dividend of 18p.
Director changes
As previously reported, after almost ten years as Group CEO,
Andrew Tinkler will step down as CEO on 1 July 2017 and will
continue as an Executive Board member, giving the Board continued
access to his input at Group level. Warwick Brady, Deputy CEO and
former COO of easyJet plc, will be appointed to the Board on 1 July
2017 as CEO, subject to approval at today's AGM. Warwick will focus
on delivering the targets in the Aviation, Energy and Rail
operating business. Richard Butcher has not offered himself for
re-election at today's AGM and will step down from the Board today,
but will continue to manage the creation and realisation of value
in the Infrastructure and Investments divisions alongside Andrew
Tinkler.
Formation of Stobart Capital
Andrew Tinkler will also head a newly-formed independently-owned
business, Stobart Capital. It will work with the Group and other
investors to create value from generating and managing
opportunities in sectors where we have existing expertise, such as
businesses related to Aviation and Energy. Any such investments
will be made directly in SPV companies, rather than via Stobart
Capital itself, and alongside external investors. It is expected
that these will be non-controlling interests in the short term.
Stobart Capital will interface with the Group via the Value
Creation Committee; a newly formed Committee of the Group Board,
chaired by John Coombs, a Non-Executive Director, who has
considerable experience of working with private equity arrangements
within public companies. Warwick Brady will be the other member of
the committee. The Value Creation Committee will present investment
opportunities to the Group Board for final approval before Group
investments are made.
Outlook
The Group is trading in line with the Board's expectations and a
further update will be provided when it announces its results for
the six months to 31 August 2017, which is expected to be made on
19 October 2017.
Andrew Tinkler commented:
"I would like to thank all stakeholders for their support over
the last 10 years and I am looking forward to working with Warwick
as the new CEO of the Group. Approximately 50% of my time will be
dedicated to helping support Warwick and the existing businesses as
an Executive Director on the Group Board. In particular, I will be
using my experience and skill set to help deliver and realise the
value in our Infrastructure and Investments divisions. The
remainder of my time will be spent in Stobart Capital looking for
strategic opportunities to support the strategy of the Group and
create more value."
Enquiries:
Redleaf Communications +44 20 7382 4730
Charlie Geller Stobart@redleafpr.com
Elise Palmer
Sam Modlin
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
AGMFPMLTMBATBLR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 29, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Esken (LSE:ESKN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Esken (LSE:ESKN)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024