Press Release                                                                                13 September 2011

Billington Holdings Plc

("Billington" or "the Group")

 Interim Results

Billington Holdings Plc (AIM:BILN), one of the UK's leading structural steel and construction safety solutions specialists, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2011.

Highlights

·     Results in line with expectations

·     Seven per cent increase on revenue growth, albeit at depressed margins, is an indicator of the Group's growing market share

·     Joint Venture with Bourne Steel to form BS2 enables the Group to bid for larger projects 

·     Acquisition of Marshall Steel Stairs, a complementary business with an excellent reputation

·     Sustained growth in 'easi-edge' and 'hoard-it' due to high utilisation of products and continued growth in market share.

Commenting on the results, Steve Fareham, Chief Executive of Billington Holdings, said:

"Throughout the first six months of 2011 the markets have remained challenging, but I am happy to say that we have managed to grow revenues, albeit at tight margins.  We have made a number of decisions, which we believe will position us well for the long term growth of the business, including the formation of BS2 and the acquisition of Peter Marshall Steel Stairs Limited.  The formation of BS2 was well received by the industry and will enable us to bid for bigger projects, whilst the acquisition of Peter Marshall was timely and complemented our own business.

"We are under no illusions, even though we expect margin pressures to ease in 2012; we realise that the construction market recovery will be a slow one.  We remain cautious going forward, whilst positioning ourselves for growth.  We have a strong balance sheet, the industry knowledge and relationships, to provide us with a degree of confidence in the current market conditions and look to 2012 with cautious optimism."

- Ends -

For further information please contact:

Billington Holdings plc                                                                                                Tel:       00 44 1226 340666

Peter Hems
Executive Chairman

Steve Fareham
Chief Executive

Blythe Weigh Communications                                                                              Tel:      00 44 20 7138 3204

Tim Blythe, Ana Ribeiro, Matthew Neal

Mobile: 07816 924626/07980 321505/07917 800011

WH Ireland                                                                                                                      Tel:     00 44 161 8322174 
Katy Mitchell, Jessica Metcalf

Mobile: 0113 394 6618/0113 394 6623

Chief Executive's Statement

Introduction

I am pleased to report results for Billington Holdings plc for the six months ended 30 June 2011 which are in line with market expectations. Trading conditions in the UK construction sector remain extremely challenging.

Results

Group revenue increased by seven per cent on the equivalent period in 2010, but operating profit has fallen from £1.1 million in 2010 to a loss of £0.6 million before taxation on continuing operations in 2011. Loss after taxation for the period was £0.4 million compared with a profit of £0.8 million in 2010, after taking account of discontinued operations.

Businesses

Structural Steel

Based in Barnsley and Bristol, Billington Structures Limited's ("Billington Structures") main business is the design, fabrication and erection of structural steelwork for a wide variety of sectors, including supermarkets, education, commercial buildings, waste and military establishments.

The protracted and difficult economic conditions in the UK remain, and, the directors believe that when combined with a capacity imbalance of steelwork contractors, this has resulted in margins remaining poor.

Billington Structures has been successful in winning a number of major contracts over the period, which has allowed both of its manufacturing facilities to operate at near maximum capacity. Continuing to maintain workload has been crucial and a number of new initiatives have been implemented in an effort to diversify into less competitive markets. A series of management changes have also been introduced, including the appointment of a sales director.

Tubecon, Billington Structure's specialist tubular and complex steelwork division, continues to make progress and has completed a number of contracts in the period, with further opportunities presenting themselves going forward. The division has been particularly successful in developing opportunities with customers and markets that are new to us.

Billington Structures has formally launched its joint venture, BS2 (2011) Limited ("BS2"), with Bourne Construction in order to offer the UK construction sector an alternative major steelwork contractor. The introduction of a third player into the large project environment seems to have been well received in the market and it is hoped it will yield opportunities in the very near future.

Acquisition

On 22 March 2010 Billington acquired the trade and assets of Peter Marshall (Fire Escapes) Limited (In administration).  These were placed into a wholly owned subsidiary, Peter Marshall Steel Stairs Limited. The acquisition represented a strategic move to acquire a complementary business with an excellent reputation in its market, and, with an influx of new orders, the facility remains busy.   

On 2 September 2011 Billington Holdings Plc exchanged contracts on the premises currently occupied by Peter Marshall with a view to completing the property acquisition in the near future. Acquiring the property demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the business.

Safety Solutions

Based in Tuxford, North Nottinghamshire, easi-edge Limited's ("easi-edge") main business is the design, logistics management and hire of patented safety barriers to the UK steel and timber frame construction industry. With an ever growing market share, the business has been less impacted by the downturn in the construction industry.  Utilisation of our hire equipment is running at an average rate of 90% year to date and has again necessitated a further programme of capital expenditure of new barriers, due to contracted commitments for the second half of the year.

Our 'hoard-it' site hoardings division, based in Wombwell, has seen a period of rapid expansion. The inherent benefits of the product are being increasingly recognised by many of the UK's largest contractors.

Earnings per Share

Loss per share from continuing operations was 3.5 pence in the period compared with earnings per share of 6.7 pence for the corresponding period in 2010. The corresponding figure for the whole of 2010 was 8.3 pence per share.

Dividend

The Directors have reluctantly decided, because of the current sustained difficult economic environment and a desire to maintain cash resources within the Group, not to pay an interim dividend at the current time (2010 - interim dividend of 2.75 pence per share).

Liquidity and Capital Resources

In the current climate of uncertainty for the construction industry generally, the Board considers that having a strong balance sheet with adequate cash resources enables the Group to be well placed to take advantage of the economic recovery.

The Group had a cash balance of £2.7 million at 30 June 2011, compared with £4.9 million at 31 December 2010 and £6.9 million at 30 June 2010. The net cash flow from operating activities during the period amounted to an outflow of £1.4 million, which was primarily attributable to an increase in the level of inventories and work in progress, net of a smaller related increase in trade and other payables, since 31 December 2010. The net cash flow from investing activities amounted to an outflow of £0.7 million; the majority of the capital expenditure related to additional products for easi-edge, but £98,000 was spent on acquiring assets for Peter Marshall.

Prospects

Prospects for the sectors in which we operate remain challenging.  We expect current margins on contracts to be slender throughout the remainder of 2011, however, there are signs of an improved market in 2012, and we would expect margins to show some recovery in 2012. 

The directors believe the number of business failures in the steelwork contracting sector remains relatively small, although with further increasing steel prices, recently announced, coupled with a harsh stance being taken by credit insurers, the directors believe there will inevitably be further casualties. Billington maintains a strong cash position and selectively and strategically evaluates any opportunities that arise.

The directors intend to capitalise on the continued progress of our hoard-it and Tubecon divisions by developing these products in order to increase the contribution they are making at Group level.

BS2, our joint venture, is gathering momentum following its official launch with keen interest being displayed from a number of leading developers. The Board remains positive that this unique and complementary initiative will continue to develop through the second half of 2011 and into 2012.

The directors believe Billington possesses the balance sheet, industry relationships and successful initiatives to enable it to progress through the difficult continuing economic environment and place the Group in the best position to take advantage of the inevitable but slow economic recovery.

Board and Employees

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues on the board and all of our loyal employees for their loyalty and continued support through these unprecedented economic times.