WORKSPACE provider Regus is on course to meet full year expectations, it said in today’s interim results.
The international group saw revenues in the six months to June 30 rise by 9.7% to £565.6m and recorded a pre-tax profit of £13m, compared with a £6.1m loss the same time last year, after incurring exceptional charges of £15.8m.
All regions showed improvement, with the UK managing to improve revenues from £89m to £105.1m, leading to a contribution of £14.5m compared with £3m previously.
The group, which provides office space in Liverpool’s Exchange Flags and Fearnhead’s Cinnamon Park in Warrington, also reported an increase in net cash of £197.8m against £191.5m, despite funding the opening of 48 new centres, taking its total number of workstations to 193,393.
Chief executive Mark Dixon said today: “We are pleased with the good strategic and financial progress the business is making at a time of prolonged economic uncertainty.”
He said the robustness of the firm’s ‘mature’ centres supports the ongoing investment in future growth, and added: “As we enter the second half of the year, Regus remains well positioned to capitalise on these opportunities and is on track to deliver a full year performance in line with our expectations.”
Technological advances will increase the appeal of the Regus, offer, he said: “The mainstreaming of mobile technology tools such as the Smartphone and Workpad has made work something one does rather than a place to go.
“As a result, virtual interactions from home, on the road or at third party locations diminish the need for long-term fixed workplaces.”
And he claimed research points to the worldwide mobile worker population reaching 1.2bn by 2013, accounting for more than a third of the global workforce.
Liverpool stockbroker Panmure Gordon maintained its ‘buy’ recommendation for Regus stock after today’s results.
Analysts Mike Allen and Paul Jones said: “H1 results are 4% ahead of our forecasts at the adjusted profit before tax level, reflecting a solid performance despite the current economic uncertainty.
“The performance within its mature sites was a key driver behind this, while underlying cash generation was also excellent, making its expansion during the period self-funded.
“The company expects to meet full year expectations and we leave our forecast assumptions unchanged as a result.”
