Chairman's statement
Mouchel has experienced a difficult year and our results have been disappointing. Our markets have remained depressed as a result of the global economic downturn and as a result of Government measures to tackle the budget deficit. Mouchel’s business has also been disrupted in the year by takeover discussions and banking/financial issues which have had an impact on our ability to win work. Even against this backdrop we have underperformed, particularly in our Management Consulting division and in the Middle East. We have much to do.
We understand the climate we now operate in and we have continued to manage our cash position carefully during the year, to work with banks to refinance the business, and to focus on service delivery. However, we believe that we can do more to improve our own business performance.
To move Mouchel on to the next stage, we have made changes to strengthen our Board and have appointed Grant Rumbles as our new Chief Executive and Rod Harris as our Finance Director. We are actively seeking a new chairman who can lead the company through the recovery ahead.
Mouchel has a strong core business – we have excellent staff and we provide services that our clients need and value. We successfully help government organisations to change the way they operate – we must continue to do likewise by improving our own operating model and reducing costs, and we now have the management team in place to make sure this happens.
We are also pleased to announce that we have reached agreement with our lenders on the terms of an amendment to our banking facilities. (Further details of these amendments are disclosed in the Finance Director’s report.)
The short-term outlook will continue to be difficult. The markets are not going to change overnight and public organisations will continue to face cutbacks in spending. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Mouchel as we help public bodies to address their own challenges and improve their services.
We have not performed to our potential or to our own expectations over the last year. However, Mouchel has continued to trade profitably on an underlying basis during the period. We have leading positions in our core markets of Highways, and Local Government, and a clear vision to do likewise in Regulated Industries. We have the expertise and ability to deliver sustainable long-term growth for the
benefit of all stakeholders.
I am confident that the changes we have made to the management team and our plans to improve our operations and reduce debt will put us in a more stable and profitable position in the future.
Sir Michael Lyons
Interim Chairman