29th Aug 2018 08:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - Diploma PLC on Wednesday said it remains on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations but believes that a change of chief executive officer is "in the best interests of the company".
The technical products supplier said Richard Ingram has stepped down from his role as CEO with immediate effect. The company has already started a process to identify a successor.
Meanwhile, Non-Executive Chairman John Nicholas will take over from Ingram as interim executive chairman until a permanent new CEO is appointed.
"The board believes that a change in CEO is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," said Nicholas.
"Working together with Diploma's experienced senior management team I feel confident the group's successful, consistent strategy and culture will continue to deliver profitable growth," Nicholas added.
In a separate statement, Diploma said it continued to trade robustly in the second half of 2018.
As a result, for the year to the end of September, the company expects to report revenue growth of 7%, as the negative impact from currency movements has eased during the period and is expected to be around 3%.
On a divisional basis, the Life Sciences sector saw a 6% increase in second-half revenue. Diploma said the result was boosted by a strong contribution from the Australian diagnostic firm Abacus dx Pty Ltd, acquired in April last year.
The division also is expected to benefit from good growth from the introduction of a new supplier.
In the Seals sector, revenue continued to advance from strong trading conditions in both North America and Europe and is expected to increase by 6% year-on-year.
The International Seals division have strengthened further in the second-half, Diploma said, and is expected to grow annual revenue by 6%. The result was helped with strong trading in the European businesses supported by improved trading in Russia and Australia.
In addition, the Controls Sector revenue is anticipated to increase by 7%, reflecting positive trading conditions in its major European markets.
Diploma also noted that it completed an acquisition of cable products supplier FS Cables on Wednesday last week. The company said it paid an initial cash consideration of GBP17.0 million for FS Cables and expects to finish the financial year with GBP30 million in cash.
Looking ahead, Diploma said its pipeline of acquisition opportunities remains healthy and it intends to continue its investments in purchasing new businesses.
Diploma said it plans to publish its full-year results on November 19.
The stock was trading 0.6% higher on Wednesday at 1,374.00 pence per share.
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