27th Apr 2006 07:01
Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC27 April 2006 Embargoed until 0700 27 April 2006 Ultra Electronics Holdings plc ("Ultra" or "the Group") AGM Statement Ultra Electronics Holdings plc will hold its Annual General Meeting inGreenford, Middlesex today at 10.00 a.m. At the meeting, Dr. Julian Blogh,Chairman of Ultra, will make the following statement: "As announced on 27 February in its preliminary results statement, Ultra madeexcellent progress in 2005, achieving high growth in revenue and profits. TheGroup's performance was boosted by investments in recent years to enhance itsbattlespace IT, airport IT systems and torpedo countermeasures capabilities.Contributions were made by the acquisitions completed in 2004 and the twofurther acquisitions made during 2005, which strengthened Ultra's position inthe civil aerospace and homeland security markets. Ultra's performance in 2005 built on its long track record of continuousprogress and the Group entered 2006 with a strong balance sheet and a recordorder book. Ultra has the headroom to make further acquisitions that willenhance and complement the Group's range of niche activities, and to invest torespond to market demands. The order book increased significantly in 2005 andprovides Ultra with its customary level of visibility for 2006 earnings. Itreflects the Group's strong positions on existing platforms as well as itssuccess in winning positions on new programmes. Gaining positions on newplatforms and programmes has driven the growth of Ultra. It is still true,however, that no single programme contributes more than 5% of sales in a year,thereby underpinning the resilience of the Group's performance. Cash generation in 2005 was strong, with a conversion percentage from operatingprofit, after capital expenditure, of 105%. Over the last five years, theGroup's average cash conversion has been 114%, reflecting the high quality ofUltra's earnings. 2006 has started well. In January, Ultra announced that it had agreed to acquirePolyflex Aerospace Ltd ("Polyflex") for a cash consideration, subject to netasset adjustment on completion, of £4.0m. Polyflex supplies high pressurepneumatic products for a wide variety of aerospace and defence applications.These have strong synergies with those of Ultra's Precision Air Systemsbusiness, into which it is being subsumed. In the first quarter, Ultra won orders worth over £90m, including significant UScontracts for sonobuoys and battlespace IT equipment and a further contract fornoise cancellation systems for the Airbus A400M aircraft. At the end of March,Ultra had an order book of over £510m. Trading so far this year has been in line with expectations and the Board hasconfidence in the outlook for the Group in 2006." - Ends -Enquiries: Ultra Electronics Holdings plc 020 8813 4321Dr Julian Blogh, Chairman www.ultra-electronics.comDouglas Caster, Chief Executive [email protected] Weber Shandwick Square Mile 020 7067 0700Susan Ellis / Louise Robson Notes to editors: Ultra Electronics is a group of specialist businesses designing, manufacturingand supporting electronic and electromechanical systems, sub-systems andproducts for defence, security and aerospace applications worldwide. Ultra, which employs 3,000 people in the UK and North America, focuses on highintegrity sensing, control, communication and display systems with an emphasison integrated information technology solutions. The Group concentrates onobtaining a technological edge in niche markets, with many of its products andtechnologies being market leaders in their field. Ultra's products and services are used on aircraft, ships, submarines, armouredvehicles, surveillance systems, airports and transport systems around the world.Ultra also plays an important role in supporting prime contractors byundertaking specialist system and sub-system integration using the combinedexpertise of the Group businesses. Ultra is organised into three divisions as follows: Aircraft & Vehicle Systems including miniature airborne compressors; highintegrity software and systems; aircraft system electronics; aircraft cockpitindicators; aircraft noise and vibration control systems; airframe protectionsystems, armoured vehicle electronic information and control systems; human/computer interface equipment and shared working environment solutions. Information & Power Systems including command and control systems equipment;weapons interfacing electronics; radar tracking; electro optical tracking;surveillance systems; naval data processing and distribution; airport andairline information management systems; ID card systems; naval power conversion;signature management of naval vessels; transit system power conversion andcontrol. Tactical & Sonar Systems including secure tactical line-of-sight radio systems,multiplexers and switches; voice communication systems; tactical data links;cryptographic equipment; active, passive and multi-static sonobuoys; sonobuoyreceivers and processors; distributed surveillance sensor arrays; ship's sonarsystems; acoustic countermeasure systems and ship's torpedo defence systems. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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