Johnson Service Group published its half-year report on 3 September 2013 and reported a 214% rise in pre-tax profits to reach £4.4m and a reduction in net debt from £58.5m to £53.6m. As a result of its strong performance, the Board has recommended an 11.1% increase in the interim dividend to 0.40p.
The group completed the disposal of its facilities management (FM) division for £32.2m on 7 August. This occurred after the reporting period and would reduce debts on a pro-forma basis to £25.6m.
Textile rental has traded well and business from the acquisition of Cannon has now been fully integrated.
The restructuring of the drycleaning business has been substantially completed. The results show a 3.4% increase in like-for-like sales and a significant improvement in adjusted operating profit.
The investment in implementing GreenEarth processing in all branches and rebranding to reflect this is ahead of schedule. A national campaign to raise awareness of the difference that Johnson Cleaners offers will be launched. The group has extended the exclusive agreement with GreenEarth for the UK for a minimum ten-year period.
