CH&Co Group has announced its first results as a newly merged company. The results for CH&Co Catering Group (Holdings) Ltd, the overall holding company of the brands within CH&Co Group, show sales for the 7-month period from 1 June to 31 December 2015 of £102.6m with an EBITDA (excluding exceptional expenses) of £4.5m.
The accounting period of only 7 months is a result of bringing all companies within the Group in line with a new calendar year-end.
CEO Bill Toner (pictured) said, “We’re very pleased with these first results. The merger of CH&Co Catering Limited with Host Catermasters has allowed the enlarged group to target all sectors across the UK and Ireland, enabling it to succeed in this highly competitive industry. As expected, strategically and operationally, the merger has proven to be an excellent fit because both businesses are high quality caterers with the same client-focused culture and business ethos.
“Being the first period of trading for the new group, there are no comparative figures but post-merger, the businesses have continued to perform well; client retention is in excess of 97% and we have had a number of significant new contract wins. Pleasingly, in a time of significant change post-merger, staff turnover has remained well within industry expected levels.”
The firm has successfully managed the integration post-merger, maintaining the historic gross margins of the underlying businesses and controlling administrative expenses. Excluding exceptional items in respect of merger costs, and amortisation of intangibles, adjusted operating profit for the period at £4,546k or 4.4% is in line with expectations and industry averages.
In this first period of trading, the effects of the merger costs and non-cash intangibles amortisation resulted in a retained loss of £2.7m. Operating cash flows were strong with an overall increase in cash of nearly £1.8m.
Toner continued, “One year into our merger and the company is in a strong position. Our integration is largely complete, we have a new corporate headquarters with excellent facilities, we’re investing significantly in the development of our people, and the brands within the company are retaining and winning new business. Despite the Referendum result and the market turmoil we are experiencing, we are well placed to build for the future.”