In 2022 HSS Hire Group made a pre-tax profit of £18.9m (2021: £8.0m) on revenue up 10% at £332.8m (2021: £303.3m).
HSS broke a run of five consecutive loss-making years in 2021 with chief executive Steve Ashmore finally turning the business around after the ill-fated 2015 stock market flotation. Results for 2022 show that 2021 was no fluke and confirm the company’s revival.
Rental revenues grew 8% to £206.2m in 2022 (2021: £191.2m) and accounted for 62% of group revenue (2021: 63%). Fleet utilisation was 57%. Services revenues increased by 13% to £126.6m (2021: £112.1m), accounting for 38% (2021: 37%) of revenue.
Net debt was reduced by £10.3m during the year to £94.3m.
Steve Ashmore said: "HSS achieved a second consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth in 2022 with our technology-led strategy continuing to deliver strong results. The business has been restored to full health, supported by motivated and engaged colleagues who are fully embracing our innovative customer-offering.
“We continue to deploy new technologies across both HSS ProService and HSS Operations with all these initiatives remaining on track or ahead of plan. In ProService, our digital self-serve portal - HSS Pro - is delivering stronger than anticipated results. Our growing pipeline of customers waiting to be onboarded to the portal reflects the significant need and demand that exists for our evolving marketplace proposition and differentiates HSS in the fragmented building services market. For HSS Operations, our technology has enabled enhancement to the service we offer while efficiently managing our well invested fleet.
“Our systems are also working to support our ESG [environmental, social and governance] agenda, allowing both HSS and our customers to make data driven choices on carbon emissions.
“We have started 2023 well, building on the previous year's momentum, and our focus remains firmly on sustaining our growth and upholding our position as the technology frontrunner in our sector."
There has been a further boost for HSS in 2023 with its biggest customer, Amey, agreeing a two-year contract extension to a relationship that dates back to 2016.
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