Trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Strong financial performance and momentum driven by further progress against strategic objectives

• Total revenues for the year +24%, including acquisitions, to c. €1.2bn. Organic revenue, excluding acquisitions, +3% for the year and +6% in Q4
• Underlying EBITDA +30% in the year to €347m-€350m. Organic EBITDA, excluding acquisitions, up 9-10% for the year and 13-17% for Q4
• Continued strong liquidity and cash generation. Net leverage at year-end of c. 4.7 times Pro-Forma Underlying EBITDA, down from 5.3 times year-on-year
• Momentum in units on rent and revenue per unit underpins growth into 2021

LONDON (22 February 2021) – Modulaire Group (together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), Europe and Asia Pacific’s leading business services company specialising in modular services and infrastructure, is pleased to provide a preliminary trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2020. 

The Group expects to report the following financial performance for the year:

• Group revenue of c. €1.2bn, up approximately 24% over the prior year
• Organic revenue growth for the year (excluding acquisitions) of c. 3% and for the fourth quarter c. 6%
• Underlying EBITDA for the Group of between €347m to €350m, up c. 30% against €266m in the prior year. In FY20, acquisitions delivered c. €60m of Underlying EBITDA, up from €3m in the prior year
• Organic EBITDA growth for the year (excluding acquisitions) of between c. 9-10% and c. 13-17% for the fourth quarter
• Excluding acquisitions:
  • Fleet utilisation was 85% at the year-end and units on rent increased by 14,000 units over the year.  Units on rent at the year-end of 191,000 was 5,000 units higher than the average over 2020
  • Revenue per unit per month for the year was €233 which was 6% higher than the prior year.  Revenue per unit per month for the fourth quarter was €243 which was 5% higher than the average rate for the year

Modulaire Group made six acquisitions in 2020 as part of its focus to deploy capital into highly accretive M&A. Including the full 12 month run rate for these acquisitions within Underlying EBITDA for financial year 2020 would add a further c. €35m. In addition, the Group completed the acquisition of Carter Accommodation Group Ltd (“Carter”) in January 2021. Carter generated c. €8m of EBITDA over the 12 months ended 31 December 2020.

Continued strong cash generation across Modulaire Group reduced net leverage at the end of the year to c. 4.7 times Pro-Forma Underlying EBITDA, down from 5.1 times at the end of the third quarter of 2020 and 5.3 times at the end of 2019.  Pro-forma net leverage is stated after adjusting for the acquisition of Carter and after the return, in advance of the year end, of €103m of cash held outside of the Group.

Mark Higson, Modulaire Group’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Modulaire continues to report strong growth as we deliver on our strategic objectives for the business. The Group’s diverse range of customers are engaging very positively with our sustainable solutions, high quality service and flexible proposition, underpinning our strong market position. At the same time, we continue to have a healthy pipeline of highly accretive, actionable bolt-on M&A opportunities in what is a very fragmented market. We remain very confident about the future, with the business ideally positioned for further substantial progress supported by long term macroeconomic and consumer trends.”

The Group expects to publish its audited results for the year in the second half of March 2021. 

About Modulaire Group

Modulaire Group is the leader in European modular services and infrastructure. We create smart spaces for people to live, work and learn. Our business is designed to help customers find the right space solution, no matter what their requirements. Modulaire Group has operations in 25 countries with approximately 259,000 modular space and portable storage units and 3,400 remote accommodations rooms. The company operates as Algeco in Europe and Scandinavia, Elliott, Advanté and Carter in the United Kingdom, BUKO Huisvesting, BUKO Bouw & Winkels and BUKO Bouwsystemen in The Netherlands, Ausco in Australia, Portacom in New Zealand, and Algeco Chengdong in China.

For further information

Investor relations: Phil Vellacott
investorrelations@modulairegroup.com
07841 563541

Media enquiries:
Tulchan Communications
modulairegroup@tulchangroup.com
0207 353 4200

The preliminary financial results and estimates presented in this announcement are based on preliminary financial information and other operating data drawn from internal management accounts and are not intended to provide a comprehensive statement of our results or financial position as of the dates or for the periods indicated. We have not yet completed our financial closing procedures for year ended 31 December 2020, and the preliminary results and estimates presented herein are derived from financial information that has not been audited or reviewed. They are based on the information currently available to us, which may be incomplete or inaccurate, and management’s current knowledge, beliefs and assumptions, which are inherently uncertain and subject to change. While we believe these preliminary results and estimates to be reasonable, our actual results could vary from these estimates.

Underlying EBITDA, Organic EBITDA, Pro-Forma EBITDA, EBITDA, cash generation, net leverage and other metrics presented on an organic basis or net of the effect of acquisitions represent non-GAAP financial measures and alternative performance measures that are not are not required by, or presented in accordance with, IFRS or any other generally accepted accounting principles. We present these non-GAAP measures because we believe that they and similar measures are widely used by certain investors, securities analysts and other interested parties as supplemental measures of performance and liquidity. Our non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

This announcement contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events that are intended as “forward-looking statements,” particularly those statements concerning expectations regarding the Group’s year-end results, future growth or M&A activity. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from current projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations relating to us. Any or all of these forward-looking statements may turn out to be inaccurate. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.