Helphire to pay £2.5m special dividend following refinancing

Credit hire firm Helphire is to pay a £2.5m special dividend following the completion of its capital reduction and refinancing.

The company will pay a 0.165 pence a share dividend to shareholders on 25 July.

The announcement of the dividend follows a High Court court order that has allowed Helphire to cancel its share-premium account and its deferred shares.

The move has allowed Helphire to clear the deficit in its profit and loss account, which in turn has enabled it to start paying dividends again.

Going forward, the company aims to “distribute as much of the profits by way of dividend as it reasonably and legitimately can, provided sufficient cash is available to pay such dividends”.

Helphire completed a refinancing on 27 March, which has allowed it to pay down the bulk of its debt. Its net debt, including fleet related debt and cash balances, has been reduced to £1.1m.

The company also announced that as of 31 May, its debtor days had fallen to 127 days. Debtor days are a measure of how quickly credit hire companies are paid for their services.