Tools and equipment firm HSS Hire Group said annual revenues and earnings fell as it ramped up cost-cutting efforts as part of an overhaul to help it weather tough trading.
The business said it continued with the “right sizing” of its equipment rental arm, HSS The Hire Service Company, in the final three months of 2024, cutting 10 of its operating sites.
It said this was “partly to better reflect market conditions”.
But the group – which is shifting its financial year to the end of March in 2025 – said revenues fell and operating costs lifted amid the restructuring.
It reported a 2% drop in like-for-like revenues to £333 million for 2024, while it added that the overhaul and cost-cutting moves saw operating costs rise by 3% on a net basis.
This left underlying earnings sharply lower, down by more than a quarter to around £48 million for the year, from £65.1 million in 2023.
The group restructured last year, separating out its HSS ProService division – a digital marketplace for building services – and the HSS The Hire Company arm to become standalone businesses.
It said the “increasingly focused structure provides greater optionality to maximise future value for shareholders”.
Steve Ashmore, executive chairman of HSS ProService and a director of HSS Hire Group, said: “Whilst market conditions remained challenging in the second half of 2024, following the well-executed restructuring and streamlining of our core operations, HSS is now better positioned to deliver sustainable growth as market conditions improve.”
