16th Dec 2019 10:52
(Alliance News) - Chemring Group PLC on Monday reported a swing to profit in a financial year ahead of expectations due to a strong performance from the Sensors & Information segment.
For the year to the end of October, defence and engineering firm Chemring swung to a pretax profit of GBP26.7 million, compared to a loss of GBP22.0 million the year before, as non-underlying costs dropped to GBP12.7 million from GBP46.9 million.
The reduced non-underlying costs reflect the lack of expenses related to legal matters, acquisitions, and business restructuring, as well as a tax credit of GBP4.3 million compared to a charge of GBP13.1 million the year prior.
On an underlying basis - excluding one-off costs - pretax profit rose by 58% to GBP39.4 million from GBP24.9 million the year before.
Revenue grew by 13% to GBP335.2 million from GBP297.4 million, driven by a strong performance in the Sensors & Information segment, as deliveries on the HMDS IDIQ contract started and Roke enjoyed a robust annual performance.
Order intake for the year was up 14% at GBP410.6 million from GBP360.0 million, due to the HMDS IDIQ contract, and orders in Australia for F-35 countermeasures.
Chemring declared a final dividend of 2.4 pence per share, giving a total payout of 3.6p per share, up 9% from 3.3p the prior year.
Looking ahead, Chemring has an order book of GBP449 million as at October 31, up from GBP394 million the year before. GBP287 million of the group's order book is due as revenue in its new financial year, covering 76% of targeted revenue for the period.
Chemring said expectations for its current year remain unchanged, with performance as usual weighted towards the second half.
"It has been an exceptionally busy year in which we continued to deliver our current mission of building a stronger business. We have implemented significant changes to improve safety, strengthen leadership and corporate governance, and embed continuous improvement across the group. We have also changed the structure of the business and the way in which we operate. In doing so we are improving the quality of the business and redefining our purpose," said Chief Executive Michael Ord.
Also on Monday, Chemring announced Non-Executive Director Nigel Young will step down with effect from the end of April next year.
Young has been a non-executive director at Chemring since 2013, and prior to that was interim chief financial officer at the group from 2012 to 2013.
Shares in Chemring - which is headquartered in Hampshire - were up 1.0% at 201.00 pence on Monday in London
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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