The annual results just released by H&H Group PLC for the year ending 30th June 2023 reflect an excellent performance given the unprecedented challenges of the past year’s dramatic rise in inflation and interest rates, with turnover of £19m and operating profit up from £1.8m to £1.9m.
The results show an overall operating profit of £1,880,000, up from £1,780,000 in 2022 and profit before tax at £1,412,000 compared to £1,509,000 the previous year. Given the above results, the Board unanimously recommended a final dividend of 15p to be added to the interim dividend of 5p and be paid out next month.
“In these challenging times this is a fantastic performance proving the resilience of the Group and the strength of its diversified business model, says Chief Executive, Richard Rankin, who gives full credit to the dedication and drive of the teams in every business who have enabled the Group to continue to grow and expand.
“It has been another successful year for the Harrison & Hetherington team, proving again that they can consistently deliver the best service and value to our loyal customers. This business continues to grow its footprint and market share and establish itself as the clear market leader, both in terms of size but more importantly the depth of expertise we offer. The senior management team is now well established and making a tangible difference to the operations of the business as it grows, evolves and broadens its range of traditional and digital services.
“We saw another strong and consistent year from the award-winning H&H Insurance Brokers team, building more success on solid foundations. Together with the successful Tynedale acquisition, we have continued to invest in people and geographical expansion. In addition to Cumbria and the Northeast we now cover North Yorkshire and the south of Scotland, and the suite of financial products and services we can offer, continues to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
“Our land and property business, H&H Land & Estates, has experienced a year of mixed fortunes. Once again, our land agency team have pulled out another strong performance in the face of a drastically changing financial landscape and huge uncertainty in the sector. The team has taken full advantage of the opportunities to support clients facing enormous challenges and added further to our reputation for the quality and value of our expertise and advice, particularly in the environmentally focused new landscape of government policy.
“The housing market did nothing to help our estate agency business but, with the exception of one location, we managed to hold our own against the competition. This was not enough to avoid making losses, but we have made significant structural changes and key leadership appointments, which has reduced our cost base to make us more robust during these difficult times.
“Despite enjoying an uplift in turnover, H&H Reeds has been hampered by the savage increases in the cost of materials and energy. The core printing business illustrated the difficulties of turning higher turnover into profit when paper price increases proved impossible to pass on to customers also struggling with cost inflation.
“The performance of all our businesses depends on the quality and commitment of our people, and this year’s performance is a testimony to them all. I have been acutely aware that cost and interest inflation has affected everyone at home as well as at work but our people have risen to the challenge once again and kept the Group’s trajectory on course.
“Our investment in the upskilling and development of our teams across the whole Group is paying dividends, and we’ve continued to recruit the very best to support this growth. We have also benefited from our investment in the future with our commitment to apprenticeships and it has been very rewarding to see many apprentices moving into more responsible positions within the operating companies. The values and behaviours model developed over the past few years is now firmly embedded into the business, and this creates the right culture from within the business as we continue to strengthen and grow our H&H family.
In looking to the future Richard continued by saying: “While it is impossible to predict the future with any accuracy, the past year has proved that the H&H Group has the resilience, the drive, the leadership and the people to adapt to change and challenge, and we have every confidence in our ability to continue our growth and expansion financially and geographically in the coming years.”