TIDMAA.

RNS Number : 5417C

AA PLC

11 February 2020

11 February 2020

AA plc

Pre-close trading update

Trading EBITDA and strong free cash flow growth in line with market expectations

AA plc today publishes its pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 January 2020 (FY20).

The Group looks forward to announcing growth in Trading EBITDA and strong free cash flow generation in line with market expectations*. The positive operational momentum in FY20 continues to gather pace and the Group remains on-track with its strategic plan.

Roadside return to growth

In line with management expectations we have successfully stabilised the decline of the paid membership base, which returned to growth during the second half of the year. This led to a broadly flat paid membership base year-on-year. We expect the growth in the second half of FY20 to continue into FY21 in line with previous guidance.

We were pleased to have retained or extended all our key B2B contracts due for renewal in FY20, including TSB, Toyota, Lex Autolease and Northgate. We also won several new contracts including Admiral and Uber.

Insurance delivering strong policy growth

Our Insurance business, comprising the broker, in-house underwriter and our financial services business, continues to deliver strong rates of growth, in line with our expectations.

During the year, both our motor and home books grew in line with expectations, reflecting the strong profitable growth of our in-house underwriter and the benefit of ongoing investment in systems to further accelerate the growth of the broker.

Proactive balance sheet management

We were pleased with the outcome of the recent Exchange Offer as announced on 31 January 2020, which was significantly oversubscribed. This has enabled the extension of our average debt maturities from 3.3 years to 3.9 years. In light of the Group's continued positive performance, the Group intends to continue to proactively manage its capital structure, including refinancing of the A5 and B2 notes due in 2022, subject to market conditions.

On 5 February 2020, S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed the investment grade (BBB-) credit rating of our Class A notes and non-investment grade (B+) credit rating of our Class B2 note.

Simon Breakwell, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We look forward to delivering full year results in line with market expectations, with growth in Trading EBITDA and strong free cash flow generation. In Roadside, we continue to deliver best-in-class customer service and have returned our paid membership base to growth. Our B2B business is performing well with strong renewal rates as well as new wins. Our focus in B2B remains building accretive long-term partnerships utilising our operational scale, service excellence, and innovative approach to customer solutions. Lastly, the Insurance business is delivering strong rates of profitable policy growth, and we expect this to continue next year."

AA plc will publish full year results on 31 March 2020.

ENDS

For further enquiries, please contact:

 
Investors:             Zeeshan Maqbool, Investor  Tel: +44 (0)20 7395 7301 
                        Relations and Corporate 
                        Finance 
Media: FTI Consulting  Alex Le May                Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1340 
                        John Waples 
                        Nick Hasell

AA plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange

Registered Office: Fanum House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4EA

Registered in England & Wales number: 05149111

Legal Entity Identifier number: 213800DTPE4O5OI17349

(*) Based on latest published estimates from seven analysts.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

TSTTMMFTMTABBAM

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2020 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)

Grafico Azioni Aa (LSE:AA.)
Storico
Da Mar 2024 a Apr 2024 Clicca qui per i Grafici di Aa
Grafico Azioni Aa (LSE:AA.)
Storico
Da Apr 2023 a Apr 2024 Clicca qui per i Grafici di Aa