Augean shares held down by HMRC dispute

AIM-listed waste management and disposal firm Augean (LON:AUG) has seen its share price drop by 3.81% to 80.80p (as of 13:45 GMT) after it said it wouldn’t be paying a dividend for the 2018 full year until its dispute with HMRC is concluded. The company is legally challenging the landfill tax assessments for two of its subsidiaries and will not be required to make any payments until the tribunals are complete.

Executive chairman Jim Meredith commented on Augean’s performance and said that: “2018 was a pleasing year as the Group continued to make significant changes to streamline activities, enhance performance and focus on both cash generation and retention. Strong trading in the Group’s underlying business, the exit from unprofitable businesses, good cash control and cost savings have enabled the Group to report a cash balance of £8.2m compared to the £10.8m debt position reported last year. The Group is currently experiencing strong initial trading for the start of 2019 and the Board is confident in the Group’s prospects for the year. Our focus will continue to be on cash control and so improving our cash position“.