18th Apr 2019 11:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - Trifast PLC said Thursday it recorded revenue growth across all regions in the financial year ended March 31.
The company also said it made an "encouraging finish" to the financial year, resulting in underlying pretax profit ending slightly ahead of management expectations.
Trifast said all of its regions delivered profit.
The industrial fastenings manufacturer and distributor said its Europe businesses were a "key driver" for organic revenue growth with double-digit revenue increases across five of its seven units including Holland, Hungary and Germany.
Trifast noted reduced domestic appliance volumes, the result of more "normalised" trading conditions in Italy, offset some of these increases.
The company said its year-on-year growth in Asia has been "solid" with strong domestic appliance sector increases in Singapore being offset by a fall in demand in China.
Trifast expects its growth opportunities in Asia to remain "strong" and will make additional investments in its Taiwanese manufacturing unit to build capacity and "support ongoing revenue growth at this key location".
The company's smallest region, the US, performed "very strongly" with year-on-year growth rates of over 30%.
Trifast said the UK was the company's strongest growth region, reflecting the "success" of its April 2018 acquisition of Precision Technology Supplies. Trifast said the company has "already integrated well", achieving double-digit growth. Organic overall trading levels suffered a "slight reduction", due to the "much-publicised downturn" in UK automotive manufacturing volumes in 2019.
Earlier in the week, Trifast said it agreed to a four-year GBP80 million revolving credit facility with a consortium of three banks. With this facility in place, Trifast has about GBP40 million in headroom for its M&A and investment strategies.
"There can be no doubt that the macroeconomic environment has become more challenging over recent years. With the uncertainty of Brexit potentially weighing on the UK economy, the continuing trade tensions between the US and China and the heightened risk of a Eurozone recession," said Trifast.
The company added: "Despite this backdrop, our business is in good shape; the current trading levels, our investments and our existing pipeline still make this an exciting time for the group. As ever, we continue to search out acquisition opportunities to add further value to our customer offering and global footprint, a task that is now firmly supported by the new banking facilities."
Shares in Trifast were up 5.3% Thursday at 226.35 pence each.
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