Member Article

Fast growing Utilitywise reveals 7% pretax profit rise and Board changes

Newcastle-based independent utility cost management consultancy Utilitywise plc has announced a 7% rise in pretax profits.

Announcing results for the year ended 31 July 2016, pretax profits rose to £17.8m up from £16.7m last year.

Moreover, revenues increased by 22% up from £69.1m last year to a highly-impressive £84.4m for the fast growing business.

The company has enjoyed a strong year across its business, reporting 35% growth in its Enterprise UK and Ireland order book.

In addition, better supplier terms led to a substantial improvement in net debt whilst its partnership agreement signed with Dell to advance Energy Services offering, contributed to further gains.

Further to this, the company’s UK and Ireland customer numbers increased 23% to 32,000, whilst international customer numbers increased 49% to 6,500.

Yesterday it was announced that the firm, which now boasts annergy consultant headcount of almost 650 people UK wide, had been selected by Asda Stores Limited as the Walmart-owned supermarket retailer’s chosen supplier of Internet of Things (IoT) Building solutions.

Geoff Thompson, Executive Chairman of Utilitywise, commented: “I am very pleased with the progress we are making at building a capability that has no direct comparator in the Industry.

“The strength of the procurement offering has provided a great foundation to make significant investment in our wider Energy Services capabilities allowing the Group access to significant growth opportunities going forward.

“This period of investment has positioned us very well for strong and sustainable growth with our broadened and differentiated offering.

“Strong operating cashflow generation contributed to a much improved cash position at the year end and the 30% increase in the dividend for the full-year is a sign of the confidence with which we enter the new year.”

He added: “I welcome Brendan Flattery to the CEO role and look forward to working with him.”

Board changes

The business has today announced the appointment of two new board members, with Richard Laker replacing Jon Kempster as Chief Financial Officer and Simon Waugh joining as a Non-Executive Director.

Meanwhile, Julianne McCorry, currently Assistant Company Secretary, will replace Mr Kempster, has decided to step down to pursue other career opportunities, as Company Secretary effective as of November 1.

Richard Laker joins Utilitywise from Augean plc where, in his role as Group Finance Director, he helped oversee the implementation of a new strategy, delivering double-digit annual growth in profit, operating cash flow and ROCE.

Simon Waugh has extensive experience in senior leadership roles, including seven years between 1997 and 2004 on the executive committee at Centrica plc as Sales & Marketing Director, helping transform British Gas into an international business with a market capitalisation of more than £10bn.

Geoff Thompson, Executive Chairman of Utilitywise, commented: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Jon for his significant contribution to the Group and I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career.

“At the same time, I look forward to welcoming to the Board Richard Laker as our new CFO and Simon Waugh as Non-Executive Director and SID.

“With Richard and Simon joining, and further to the recent appointment of Brendan Flattery as our new CEO on the 1st of October, I am confident that we have the right management team in place to lead the Group through this next exciting stage in its development.”

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