Billington Holdings (LSE:BILN) — Results for the year ended 31 December 2025

0:00 Good afternoon, and welcome to the BILLINGTON HOLDINGS PLC investor presentation. Throughout this recorded presentation, investors will be in listen only mode. Questions are encouraged and can be submitted at any time via the q and a tab situated on the right hand corner of your screen. Simply type in your questions and press send. Before we begin, I'd like to submit the following poll. And I'd like to hand you over to the BILLINGTON HOLDINGS PLC. Good afternoon. I'm Mark Smith, chief executive officer at BILLINGTON HOLDINGS PLC. I and my colleagues Trevor Taylor, Chief Operating Officer and Dave Jones, Chief Financial Officer are pleased to present to you our 2020 five year end results. Our executive summary here provides some of the highlights 2025. Reduced revenue as a result of delivering a smaller number of highly complex projects with a reduced steel content.

0:54 Underlying operating margin of 3.6% after adjusting for the costs associated with the closure of the Yate facility and consolidation of structural steelwork activities in Barnsley. Profitability has been impacted as a result of subdued macroeconomic environment combined with margin deferment associated with client led contract delays. A strong cash balance has been maintained and the balance sheet remains with zero debt and the majority of company properties owned outright. Dividend is proposed of 11p per share, a dividend cover level consistent with prior years and assess on the underlying earnings.

1:45 A robust order book with a diverse mix of projects, securing productivity for 2026 and into 2027. New TubeCon facility has been constructed and is now fully operational. Five year capital investment program has been principally completed in the year, which has increased quality, efficiency and productivity. There have been a number of executive and non executive board changes. Trevor Taylor has transitioned into the role of chief operating officer and Dave Jones assumes the role of chief financial officer. Sharon Daly joins the board as nonexecutive director and is chair of the remuneration committee from February 2026.

2:37 BILLINGTON HOLDINGS share register. The large largest change on the share register has been the introduction of IG Markets, principally acquiring their shareholding from Otis Capital. The share price remains subdued in light of the ongoing conflict in The Middle East. The net asset value per share is £3.78, materially equal to the current share price of £3.80 I'll now hand over to Dave Jones to provide an overview of the financial performance for 2025. 2025 notes a year of resilient trading and transition for the BILLINGTON group. The robust group performance in light of subdued market conditions notes an increase in productive output of 4.2%.

3:29 Revenue at £95,700,000 was lower than the prior year, notwithstanding a record level of productive output as a result of lower raw material steel content per productive hour. Underlying profits were lower due to a subdued economic environment combined with margin recognition being later than was anticipated as a result of client led contract delays or some principal projects. Confidence in the current workload of the group notes the proposal of a dividend of 11p per share covered 2.46 times underlying earnings, a policy consistent with that of previous years. A strong cash balance at the end of the year of 20,500,000 is consistent with the daily average gross cash balance of 19,600,000 throughout 2025.

4:22 The group remains debt free and with a three year RCF facility with HSBC to enable the group to take advantage of any complementary acquisition opportunities as they arise. The net asset value per share in issue as at 12/31/2025 was £3.78 per share. The balance sheet supported by significant cash and property assets, no goodwill, and a healthy pension surplus. The current share price only broadly reflects the net asset value of the group. The final salary pension scheme is progressing towards a buyout of the scheme's liabilities anticipated to complete in 2026 or early twenty twenty seven. The five year capital expenditure program was principally completed in 2025 with a number of further strategic projects being investigated to enhance and maximize future shareholder returns.

5:19 With some recent high profile insolvencies combined with a subdued economic environment in some sectors, the credit insurance market is taking a cautious approach to underwriting sufficient limits on all the group's clients. The group still materially maintains insurance cover on all ongoing projects. Moving forward into 2026, the group has an excellent workload of secure productive hours with the anticipated timing of margin recognition to be more balanced in 2026. This slide provides some of the highlights of the 2025 trading period. Revenue of 95,700,000 was reflective of the mix of projects undertaken in the year.

6:06 Productive output in the form of productive factory hours increased 4.2% in the year, although with comparably less raw material content per productive hour has resulted in a reduction in turnover relative to recent years. The cash balance remains robust with strong working capital management processes throughout the group. The costs associated with the closure of the eight facility were 2,800,000 in the period consisting of employee related costs and plant and equipment write downs. These costs are disclosed as non underlying and will continue during h one twenty twenty six whilst the closure of the facility is completed. The group remains with a significant surplus relating to our final salary pension scheme and is now seeking to move towards a buyout of the scheme to a dedicated insurer.

7:00 The process is anticipated to take a further year to complete. The group delivered a basic underlying earnings per share of 27.1p in 2025. Twenty twenty five's consolidated income statement notes a reduced effective corporation tax charge resulting from a research and development tax credit, a modest increase in depreciation to 2,700,000 following the increased level of capital expenditure and underlying earnings per share of 21.7p. Revenue and associated profits are anticipated to increase in 2026 because of a more balanced contract mix combined with a relatively consistent level of margin recognition throughout the year.

7:54 2025 notes a consistent strong gross cash balance throughout the year. The daily average cash balance of the group was 19,600,000 during 2025. Dividends were paid in the year of 3,210,000 and net capital expenditure movement was 1,800,000. The value associated with the Yates site is anticipated to be realized in 2026. A strong, consistent cash balance should provide ability to further progress and capitalize upon some strategic initiatives. Trevor will provide a brief overview of the capital investment program. 2025 materially notes the completion of the group's five year capital investment and modernization program.

8:44 One machine replacement was deferred from 2025 and is now anticipated to come be completed in h two twenty six. The closure of the Yate facility allows for some relatively new pieces of plant and machinery to be transferred to the Barnsley facilities and therefore mitigating an element of anticipated future capital expenditure at these sites. The expansion of the TubeCon business and the want to further increase the structural steel capacity and heavy lifting capabilities notes the construction of a dedicated facility to enable the fabrication and movement of the largest and heaviest structures.

9:33 The facility, costing £1,700,000, was completed during the year and is now fully operational. The process of replacing the easy edge barrier fleet will continue throughout 2026 and into 2027 with a further naught 500,000 anticipated to be incurred over this period. Twenty twenty six is anticipated to note £2,000,000 of capital expenditure as a result of the deferred machinery replacement before falling to more normalized levels of between 1 and £2,000,000 from 2027.

10:19 I hand back to Mark to take you through the group businesses. The organogram shows the makeup of the BILLINGTON HOLDINGS PLC. As can be seen on the pie chart above, note the increased revenue for Specialist Protected Coatings, HOLDIT and TUBECOM. The Billington structures proportion of group revenue has fallen to 70% in 2025 from 77% in 2024, principally as mentioned previously due to the complex workload being completed during the year. BILLINGTON structures highlights note activity in the most buoyant sectors, data centers, and energy from waste with other projects ongoing throughout a variety of sectors.

11:11 Looking forward, future work is predominantly in the same sectors, although also includes project delivery in the defense sector, education, low carbon energy production, and associated carbon capture facilities. Peter Marshall's, our Steel Stair project highlights. As in previous years, it can be noted here the wide range of clients as well as in group trading with BILLINGTON Structures. The business continues to operate at year maximum capacity with strong revenues being noted. A wide range of clients, including BILLINGTON structures competitors and principally principal contractors directly.

12:00 We have secured a very robust order book looking forward, sharing the same clients as Billington Structures within the same buoyant sectors, namely data, energy from waste, and education. Easy Edge site safety solution project highlights. As the commercial sector continues to be subdued, Easy Edge has witnessed the utilization levels of its principal products at reduced levels throughout the course of 2025. There remains a good spread of clients with volumes of work anticipated to increase from Q2 twenty twenty six. We are investing in replacing our whole barrier fleet with a newly designed lightweight version, which we will continue to roll out over the next two years.

12:54 We are hopeful as the market picks up as will Easy Edge's revenue and profit. The company notes pricing pressure in the market as competitors discount stock to maintain utilization. HOLDIT, environmental hoarding, and BRANDIT, our graphics branding solution highlights, another exceptional year with an excellent increase in revenue and profits to record levels. Twenty twenty six has noted a continuation of its buoyant trading and with strong level of inquiries and prospects is anticipating another positive year in 2026. Brandit, the associated marketing division of the business continues to expand its product range and deliver its services to both internal HOLDIT clients as well as other hoarding systems supplied by others.

13:53 HOLDIT and Brandit benefit from being able to deliver to all construction sectors, including the residential sector utilizing both a sales and hire model. The Shafton Steel Services project highlights. Shafton Steel Services is one of the largest steel processing businesses in The UK, servicing internal and external clients with the cutting, burning, drilling and processing of heavy steel plate. We have continued to install and commission new machinery and there is further investment planned in capacity in 2026 following the deferral of the last item of machinery within the group's capital expenditure and modernization program.

14:43 Shapton Steel Services are extremely busy, currently servicing its internal clients, Burlington Structures and Peter Marshall Steel Stairs. There is a good external work for respective competitors in construction, engineering, as well as wider steel sectors. With the above in mind, there is a strong pipeline throughout 2026 and 2027. Specialist protective coatings. This specialist facility supports the wider group's requirements for the application of high-tech treatment and fire protective coatings for internal group companies as well as the wider construction and oil and gas pipeline industries.

15:32 The group is yielding the benefit from the significant investment in automated equipment. 2025 notes an exceptional year with an excellent increase in revenue and profits to a record level as a result of the expansion of capacity and increased resources employed on a night shift. Again, there is a high workload for internal clients, BILLINGTON Structures and Peter Marshall Steelstairs, which will continue through 2026 into 2027. There has also been work carried out and continues for respected competitors to Billington Structures. We are expanding the services of SPC into other areas, and it has recently delivered its first pipeline project for the water industry where we are anticipating a constant work stream over the coming years.

16:31 The capabilities of the facility in Sheffield set it aside from other painting contractors operating in the market. Yukon, specialist steel and bridge division. The team are now fully embedded within BILLINGTON structures. HUCON's first contracts have been secured, fabricated, painted, and successfully delivered. The new production facility is fully operational and consistently delivering projects for its clients. The division has been awarded its largest order to date and will see its target revenue of exceeded in 2026. Pleasingly, the margins achieved on its contracts have been margin enhancing to the wider structural steel activities in the group.

17:23 There's a good order book combined with a strong pipeline of opportunities looking forward, which spans through to the end of twenty twenty seven. Further resources to expand available capacity of the division are currently being considered. Trevor will now discuss the sustainability and strategic initiatives. There has been continued good environmental performance with the group maintaining its carbon neutral status. We have established a sustainability committee during the year to investigate and implement carbon reduction projects and ensure that our ESG commitments and aspirations are at the heart of the Billington business.

18:10 We are expanding the Better World Billington Apprentice Training Academy based at Shaffton from September 26 to accelerate the installation of capacity at our Barnsley facilities and further addressing the skill shortages within our industry. We will maintain social responsibilities, supporting local and national charities, as well as those charities local to our construction projects, to our charity set up in 2016. We also continue to identify local labor and apprentices close to our construction projects. We are gold members of the five percent club, an organization that represents businesses that have 5% or more of their workforce in earn and learn positions.

19:06 This champions our commitment to modern apprenticeships. We respect the governance required in being a PLC listed company, and we will continue to follow the QCA code, implementing changes as new elements of the code come into effect. During the year, we have placed an increased focus on cybersecurity with certain upgrades to infrastructure and working practices to further strengthen the group's resilience. 2025 has noted an increased focus on strategic projects and initiatives. This has reduced costs, improved processes, and increased production efficiencies, further enhancing the margins the group is able to generate for its shareholders.

20:01 In October 2025, we announced the proposal to close our Yate facility and consolidate the structural steel operations of Billington Structures into its Barnsley facilities in Wormwell and Shaffton, and it was closed in December following a period of consultation. A number of personnel have since transferred to Barnsley to increase the capacity at the two Yorkshire based facilities where all other group resources are located. Over the course of 2026, we seek to replace Yates' capacity in Barnsley with further recruitment of fabrication resources on an expanded night shift at Shafton and the commencement of a night shift at the Warmwell facility.

20:52 These efforts to consolidate the operations of the Yate facility into the two Barnesley sites is consistent with our strategy of reducing our cost per productive hour and seeking to enhance the level of margin the business is able to generate. Pleasingly, the construction of our new specialist bridge work facility was completed during the year. With this now being fully operational and with secured workload through 2026 and well into 2027, the TubeCon business has secured its largest contract to date and has an established pipeline of opportunities. Our objective to secure contracts with financially stable clients has been successful in that BILLINGTON's has secured projects with a number of new financially robust clients with whom credit insurance is attainable.

21:55 SPC has further diversified into the water industry with the delivery of initial orders for the coating of underground water pipelines. With successful delivery of these initial orders and a consistent work stream over the longer term, it is anticipated we'll provide a valuable work stream of new work in an alternative market sector. There are many future projects been investigated and considered that will seek to increase revenues and enhance margins at our various businesses. Our strategic projects and initiatives are aligned and in consideration of our five strategic pillars.

22:45 Our focus is to proactively identify and manage risk while creating a sustainable, profitable work stream with financially robust clients using efficient processes to ensure competitiveness and generate a market leading return for our shareholders. We focus on people, developing, promoting, rewarding, and primarily keeping our staff safe. Properties, updating, modernizing, expanding, and maximizing the facilities to ensure production is safe, efficient, and fit for purpose. Products, focus on quality right first time, providing exceptional service to guarantee repeat business that protects our company and our clients.

23:41 Position, we believe we are the best in the business and aim to maintain this status for our cherished clients, expanding our offering into new markets. We are committed to ensure that our green initiatives deliver on our commitments, and we, as a group, play our part in our road to carbon zero. Long term growth. Our strategy is for long term growth organically and to acquire and diversify when the right opportunities are presented. We continue to drive our margin improvement through modernization and efficiencies, continuing to reinvest profit back into the developing businesses.

24:35 We have a well established succession plan developing and promoting the next generation of managers and directors. In the current market, we have even stronger commercial focus, working hard to secure the best contracts with fair terms and conditions. We have the resources to continue to be acquisitive as a group, and we will review all opportunities that complement and potentially dio diversify the group's operations into areas where we are able to enhance margin and add value. Mark will now discuss the current position surrounding The UK steel market.

25:22 The wider steel market. The government, subsumed control over British steel in 2025 with a transfer to public ownership currently being discussed with its legal owners, Dhinge. In the meantime, British steel continued to supply The UK construction and other steelwork markets. After a period of relative stability in relation to steel prices, 2026 started to note steady increases. The ongoing conflict in The Middle East and the associated escalation in fuel costs is having a consequential inflationary impact to raw material steel costs.

26:09 BILLINGTON's is principally hedged for its secure workload for raw material steel costs through either price escalation clauses with clients or fixed price arrangements with steel manufacturers or stockholders. The UK government have announced their steel strategy for the future in March of this year. This includes import steel quotas and related tariffs for EU and worldwide imports into The UK being implemented on the 07/01/2026. The level of quota and the related tariff are currently unknown, and therefore, any resultant impact is currently unable to be assessed for future opportunities.

27:05 This slide shows the Billington structures historical order book combined with the number of secured productive hours. As you can see, the work carried over into 2026 is at near record levels and is at the highest level since June 2024. This workload not only populates '26, but also spans into '27 and consists of a more balanced spread of contracts across a wide variety of market sectors. Projects have been and continue to note slippage to on-site programs resulting in management of manufacture slots and working capital. It is currently unknown what impact the ongoing conflict in The Middle East will have on future work opportunities and prospects, although the positive order book provides a degree of insulation over the short term.

28:06 And finally, Mark will take you through the current market outlook and concluding summary. Following a subdued market environment in 2025, the number and quality of prospects and contracts noted signs of improvement towards the latter part of the year and into 2026. BILLINGTON has recently secured a number of contracts spread across market sectors, providing visibility of workload for the majority of '26 and into 2027. The current secured workload combined with a number of highly developed prospects underpins the brokers' forecasts for 2026.

28:53 2026 sees the return of a number of publicly funded projects in the health and education sectors that had previously undergone a period of review. Sectors relating to information information technology and energy generation remain buoyant, and these sectors are those that BILLINGTON's has a successful history of delivering in. Recent steel price increases associated with the ongoing conflict in The Middle East, combined with anticipated quotas and related tariffs, has created a period of uncertainty for raw material price inflation. We remain alert to possible future impact on consumer and client confidence in The UK.

29:47 Credit insurance, where possible, is put in place, which remains essential given the current market. However, with long standing clients with whom we repeatedly deliver, combined with our strategic approach to broaden our client base, continues to ensure that BILLINGTON is able to mitigate risk and secure sufficient volumes of work in the most robust market sectors. So in summary, operations, the capital investment and modernization program has been hugely successful and the investments made at our Barnsley facilities has ensured that raw materials can be efficiently processed as we continue to increase output at these facilities.

30:36 We have strengthened our commitment to local employment and modern apprenticeships from September 2026 through the expansion of the Better World Apprentice Training Academy located at our Shafton facility. The investment into the Tewcom facility, which is now in full operation, combined with securing its largest order to date, provides optimism for the future trading and expansion of this division. Our continued focus on strategic initiatives and projects will ensure that we continue to drive operational improvements and enhance the margins we are able to deliver for our stakeholders.

31:24 The outlook for the group is encouraging with a more balanced order book of projects across multiple market sectors. Our workload in 2026 and 2027 is populated by projects in the most robust sectors, mainly power generation, data, defense, and education. Many of our future opportunities and prospects are of a similar nature. The current order book underpins the market forecast for 2026, although we remain mindful of ongoing global events that may have an impact on future schemes as a result of cost escalation. Financial.

32:12 2025 was a year of managing a subdued market and client led contract delays. We now transition into 2026 with a rationalized cost base, diversified order book, and encouraging prospects for the latter part of the year and into 2027. The group continues to be debt free and will use its strong cash reserves to capitalize on any complementary acquisitions. Robust balance sheet, strong cash balance, and proven track record of delivery of the most complex of projects positions BILLINGTON as the steelwork fabricator of choice for many clients in The UK. We thank you for taking the time for joining us here today, and I'm now happy to pass over to take any questions you may Thank you all for updating investors today. Could I please remind investors to submit your questions just by using the Q and A tab situated on the right hand corner of your screen?

33:16 And for your reference, a recording of today's presentation will be available in the Investor Meet company platform shortly after the meeting has ended. Guys, as you can see, we received a number of questions during today's presentation. If I could just hand back to the team to read out the questions and give responses where appropriate to do so, and I'll pick up from you at the end. Thank you. Question number one. Could you give Sheldon an overview of the order book by sector? Yes. Very similar to what we've witnessed in in 2025, really, going forward in '26. Energy from waste is about 43%. Data, 16%. Defense, 13%. Bridges and and structures by TUCON, 11%.

34:02 Carbon capture, 6%. Industrial and and infrastructure, 6%. And education is 5% feature. The company remains with what appears a surplus cash balance. Has the company considered an increased dividend and or share buyback scheme? Okay. The there is an element of surplus cash on the balance sheet that's, invested in various, notice and long term investment accounts. That is deriving an interest, within the p and l account. '26, as we move to a more normalized portfolio of projects with an increased steel content, we'll notice an increase in working capital requirements.

35:01 So that'll see a minor usage of some of that surplus cash. There are a number of strategic projects and initiatives currently being reviewed. If appropriate, we enact some of those projects. That was, again, see some of that surplus cash. Acquisitions. We remain mindful that we want to continue when appropriate to diversify and enhance and maximize the value of the group through acquisitions. So it would have to be something we believe in an alternative sector that the group's not currently engaged in our service into any great degree, maybe, renewables or the rail sector.

35:59 So we are actively reviewing, and do consider, acquisitions as they present themselves, but we need to be confident that the timing's right and that the group is able to enhance the value. Share buybacks. We considered this over the last year, and it will remain under consideration. As a board, however, there is no current intention to proceed with a repurchase of shares at this time. You want the next one, Dave? Yeah. I can take the next one. So the company appears grossly undervalued with net asset value per share of £3.78. Why do you think this is?

36:46 Well, '25 2025 notes a subdued economic environment following a number of business related taxation increases and related project and has been deferred as well. Business confidence does remain fragile at the moment. Recent global events, particularly, have placed uncertainty in an industry where proceed where it procures its materials from the worldwide market. Structural steel industry is affected by commodity and enterprise fluctuations as well, And this is likely having an impact on the current share price at the moment. However, we do have a strong balance sheet as mentioned and a strong significant cash cash reserves and a strong order book for 2026. And we do believe the current share price is lower than what the true value of the group is at this moment in time.

37:38 K. And I thank you, Dave. Do you you want to add that to him? Yep. K. How is the margin level on the order book relative to previous years, and how confident are you at delivering the 2026 broker's forecast position? K. The broker's forecast position as they've updated this morning is 8,300,000. I guess we would comment there that the market did show some signs of improvement towards the back end of twenty twenty five and the early part of twenty six. We secured a fair volume of work the early part of twenty six that did have improved margins on.

38:23 We did release an r and s a few weeks ago with 50,000,000 of contract wins. So the margin level of the order book, we are happy that that underpins or largely underpins the 2026 forecasts. And we are confident of the delivery of that for '26. As we said earlier, the majority of the workload is secured for '26 with only a very minor amount of capacity to fill at the back end of the year. And pleasingly, there's a higher level than his usual of work already secured for '27 also. So we're starting to see some level of underpinning for the '27 brokers forecast that were instated, this week.

39:16 K. It comes relating to Yate. Do you want to take that to me? Okay. With the Yate facility closure expected to conclude in H2 twenty six, how does the board intend to utilize the resulting capital? Will it be earmarked for complementary acquisitions, or might we see a special dividend to return that value to the shareholders? Okay. We are expecting towards the latter part of the year to realize the value of the Yate facility. We are investigating and in discussions with a number of parties, both public and private sector parties in Bristol.

40:01 We are currently preparing ground contamination reports and ground survey information before the site is marketed at some time towards the back end of May. That will ultimately, we hope realize, as we say, towards the end of the year. Now that capital, we're as we've mentioned earlier, we are and continue to look at acquisition opportunities to diversify the group and enable us to progress and add value. I don't guess we're at a point just yet where we'll make a decision upon realization of the sites as to the best route possible to maximize that capital, and we'll take that decision towards the end of the year when that's completed.

40:52 Hang on. Gatenga holds just over 19%. Does it remain a long term investor? Yes, it does. Its nominee has been on the board since 2013. Is any change likely there? Alex, we think Alex Ausfeldt, who is the representative of that fund and a trustee of Katanga, adds value to the board, we feel. They are they've been open minded to divesting over the years, and they've held a considerably higher percentage of shareholding, but saw the advantage of increasing liquidity.

41:39 And so they have sold down, but they're very happy holders at 19%. They're very supportive of the company and adds value to the board. So we don't foresee any likely change imminently. What's next? You mentioned that several competitors are bidding up on sustainably low margins to maintain factory utilization. Given your shift to specialist markets like energy from waste and data centers, what specific moats beyond technical expertise prevent these same competitors from eventually entering these niche and compressing your margins there as well? Well, you mentioned there specific modes, I assume you mean barriers to entry.

42:29 The technical expertise is a very big barrier to entry or moat into these markets. It's demanding servicing the energy market. You have to have specific welding criteria, execution class three and four, which eliminates quite a lot of fabricators. Not not only that, it takes a lot of work in progress to fund that. The health and safety requirements and QA as well as as well testing prevent a lot of people from entering that. There is a requirement to carry quite a heavy design staff with the capability of being able to design connections bearing in mind the requirements of fatigue.

43:19 So we have seen other people attempt or lesser companies trying to enter into these markets. And at that point, they have failed, and we haven't seen them before, again. So as I say, from that point of view, I think, technical expertise is a is a a very good reason why others would not consider it. But as I say, work in progress behind WIP is is another reason. And they're not the easiest of markets to be in, same with data centers. What we are able to give as well is in group quality as we're using our our in group, companies, that can also train at that level to service and offer complete construction solutions.

44:10 Thank you, Mark. I think I'll take this one. Do you own the freehold at Yates? If so, what route do you currently foresee to maximize the value from the the possible surplus assets? We do have own the freehold at Yates. Although on the site, we have rented a building on there from a charity, which is about 20% of the area of the site. So we're currently in discussions with and working out how best between us and the charity, if it's all, to work together to maximize the combined value of the sites. But, yeah, we own the freehold of the principal amount of that facility.

44:58 Given the lack of acquisitions despite experience in many different market conditions, at what point would the company accept that this strategy isn't working and find an alternative use for the cash? Well, I'll I'll dispute that. We have, actually used the cash and made a number of of acquisitions and created companies over the years. Certainly, during my ten years, some of it being from the shaft and site, which then service the creation of shaft and steel services, one of the largest steel processing businesses in the market now, also an expansion of BILLINGTON structures. That site then has been used for the creation of TubeCon after the demise of SH structures.

45:51 We took on the staff and created TubeCon, our bridge division. We acquired out of all mat coatings, a specialist paint application business and created specialist protective coatings. Prior to that, we bought a site and I created HOLDIT, our hoarding division, as well as Brandit, our associated marketing division of that. And that's just a few off the top of my head, let alone previously Peter Marshall Steel Stairs that was acquired out of administration. So the company has been acquisitive and and remains being inquisitive. And I think Trevor has has mentioned that in some of your earlier questions and in the reports.

46:43 We do remain and what probably isn't clear during this is the number of acquisitions that we have been well down the line in just haven't quite worked out when we've got to the line. So as I was saying, we are still there, and we will keenly use that cash when the right acquisition arises. Okay. I'll take this next one. So how much is the group's annual energy costs at present? Well, the energy costs have reduced over the last couple of years and will reduce further in 2026 following the sale of the Yates site. The current the current amount therefore in 2026 is in the region of about 500,000, and that's gonna be stay consistent for the next few years. We locked into future capped energy costs for both electricity and gas in September 2025.

47:42 So we're now secure in terms of energy prices during the next five years. We will make we will likely use more energy as we increase productivity to new facilities, but the actual pricing element element of it is fixed to that point. K. Thank you, Dave. What is your share of your addressable market in The UK? Okay. So the structural steel market in The UK is just short of 900,000 tons. It's been at that kind of level for a number of years, down from its peaks in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine of just over a million tons.

48:30 BILLINGTONS with a capacity, an average output of, say, 40,000 tons, you'd be looking at our share of that structural steelwork market of four and a half kind of percent. So, again, it shows that our market is fairly fragmented with a lot of players subsuming the whole market of about 900,000 tons. Next question. Energy from waste is such a large part of your order book. How many projects are you engaged in? So on average, and there's no simple answer, we do or engage in about 20 to 25 projects at Billings and Structures level a year. So that'll be a mix of those starting, completing, and those in full fabrication.

49:25 As we sit here today, energy from waste projects, there is four ongoing at various stages of completion, and we see that and have seen that for a number of years. And how many staff do you want that one or something? Yeah. How many staff have transferred from Yate? Did you pay redundancy staff to the remainder? Okay. So there was about a 100 direct productive staff down at Bristol. 12 have transferred to Barnsley and now are fully relocated. Did we pay redundancy to the remainder? Yes. We did upon the closure of the facility in December. The, non underlying costs of 2,800,000 are a combination of employee redundancy costs and notice pay and plant and machinery write downs on that facility. So that's what makes up the large part of the nonunderlying cost provision in this year's accounts.

50:36 There seems to be a mismatch between the company saying today that the share price undervalues the prospects of the business the business and the board's willingness to approve share buybacks. Can you help square these seemingly incompatible statements made today? We've been on a drive to increase liquidity, in our stock. And if we are to buy back our own shares, then we only make that worse. We we want to use our cash wisely when the acquisitions and prospects and CapEx projects arise. And so at the moment, we're also aware that there are a number of prospective buyers that are keen to actually buy our shares.

51:23 And so from that point of view, it it's still spoken about. It's not that that the problem isn't the confidence the business has in its own business and and the value of its own shares. It's just as I say, the use of the cash is is then keenly looked at and reviewed. And at the moment, we're not looking at approving any buybacks. But as I say, it's still there as a subject at the boardroom table. Okay. I'll take this one. Let me take the last one, Mark. I'll take that, Mark. Okay. With The UK trade relations with the EU likely to improve, have you any aims to enter the EU market again? I think we talked previously of upon Brexit, we took a pause in working in the EU while we understood the working and legislative requirements to do so.

52:22 The back end of twenty four and just the early part of twenty five, we did reenter the EU market and did a large coal store development in The Netherlands. So we are open to working within the EU if the opportunity is such that it's margin enhancing, it's with a client, we have an existing relationship, and we're comfortable that we can deliver that project in a particular country. So we're not against. We we have been back out there. We do know how to engage out there again, and we do keep an eye on opportunities that present themselves. Okay. And finally, well, thank you for leading me in. Setherfield has a new management team, but much weaker balance sheet. Do you envisage increased competition from them?

53:23 At the moment, we are seeing competition from Silverfield. I'm I'm not really envisaging more competition from them any more than we usually have from them anyway. And they're a good company. They're in the same markets we have, and they're able to deliver in the same sectors. I think it's well published that they've been having their troubles. We're keeping our head down and servicing our own projects and our own clients. One thing we don't like to do is take projects on at unsustainable prices, and so or taking them on a below cost. So I'll say with that, we will row our own boat, so to speak. Can I thank everybody?

54:10 I think that's the end of the questions. Can I thank everybody for taking interest in the company and attending this presentation? And I'll just hand back then to the controllers. Thank you once again for answering questions from investors today. Before we ask investors to share their feedback, which I know is particularly important to the company, Mark, could I please just ask you for a few closing comments? As I say, I'd just like to thank our loyal shareholders for their support. I'd like to thank our staff and all of my colleagues for such hard work and encourage any new investors to keep an eye on the company when the time's right and there are available shares in them and back with investment.

54:58 Thank you once again. Could I please ask investors not to close this session as you'll now be automatically redirected to provide your feedback, which will help the company better understand your views and expectations. On behalf of the management team of Billiton Holdings PLC, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation, and good afternoon to you all.