FSJ Fisher (james) & Sons Plc

8 February 2024

James Fisher and Sons plc

Full Year Trading Update

James Fisher and Sons plc (FSJ.L) ('James Fisher', 'the Group') today provides an update on trading for the year ended 31 December 2023, ahead of its Full Year Results.

Overview

Overall underlying trading in the second half was resilient and in line with market expectations. The Group has continued to make further early progress with its transformation during the period, focusing on operational improvements and simplification.

Divisional performance

Performance trends across all divisions through the second half were generally consistent with the first half. Energy market conditions remained largely supportive, underpinning strong performance in a number of divisional businesses, albeit North Sea IRM (inspection, repair and maintenance) and decommissioning conditions continued to be challenging. While revenue from larger project orders within Defence was lower than anticipated in the year, as procurement timelines were extended by customers, the division retains a solid pipeline and is still expected to deliver an improved year-on-year performance in 2023, underpinned by a focus on efficiency and effectiveness. The Maritime Transport division performed well with Tankships maintaining high tanker utilisation and stable day rates continuing for spot charter while Fendercare benefitted from increased operations in Brazil.

Transformation progress

The Group made further strategic progress in the second half to simplify and focus its portfolio, while improving overall financial performance. In December 2023, the Group ceased operations at Subtech Europe, which generated c.£40m of revenue in 2023. This business was incurring losses over a number of years because of increased competition and lower utilisation given the seasonality of the North Sea operations.

Further progress has been made on the Group's transformation projects that will strengthen organisational and operational capabilities. Ongoing costs of restructuring and refinancing together with costs of business closures mean that non-underlying cash costs for the second half are likely to be at a similar level to those reported in H1.

Financial position

The Group reduced its borrowings in the second half with pre-IFRS 16 net debt at 31 December 2023 reducing to £140m, from £147m at 30 June 2023 (£133m at 31 December 2022). The increase in net borrowing from 31 December 2022 reflects the additional financing and restructuring costs incurred in the year.

Jean Vernet, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"With the steps we have taken to improve our operational and financial performance, I am encouraged by the progress across the three divisions.  We are building the foundations for recovery and are seeing the benefits of the operational improvements being implemented. We remain fully committed to our ongoing portfolio simplification, which should further strengthen our balance sheet, as well as the investment in capability that will provide a platform for sustainable growth."

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