5th May 2005 10:16
5 May 2005 GKN Chairman's AGM Statement At the Annual General Meeting of GKN plc in London today, Roy Brown, Chairman,made the following statement in relation to current trading:"Trading conditions for the first four months of the year have been much asexpected at the time of our February outlook statement.In Automotive, production volumes have been down in North America and Europewith growth continuing in some Emerging markets. As expected, profits have beenimpacted by higher raw material and steel surcharge costs and, in addition,customer bankruptcies (including that of MG Rover Group) have led to some ‚£4million of write-offs.Our Aerospace and OffHighway markets remain strong, and sales and profits inboth businesses are somewhat ahead of the same period last year.Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the outlook for our Automotive marketsappears to be softening slightly overall, although certain customers andmarkets are seeing more pronounced volume reductions, which will adverselyimpact parts of our business. However, steel surcharges, which peaked in thefirst quarter, are now easing somewhat. Expectations for Aerospace andOffHighway remain unchanged and these businesses are on track to deliverimproved year on year performance.In conclusion, whilst Automotive trading in the first four months has beenchallenging and considerable uncertainty remains, at this point we see noreason for changing our expectations for the Group's performance for the year.Accounting for currency under IFRS could also produce some volatility inreported results.We will continue to make strong progress in the delivery of our strategicplans."Enquiries:GKN Corporate Communications020 7463 2354ENDGKN PLCRelated Shares:
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