20th Jul 2006 11:00
Accident Exchange Group PLC20 July 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 20 July 2006 Accident Exchange Group Plc AGM STATEMENT AND TRADING UPDATE At the Annual General Meeting of Accident Exchange Group Plc (the "Group") to beheld at 12.00pm today, Chairman Lord Young of Graffham will give the following trading update on progress since the start of the current financial year: "I am pleased to report that referral volumes in the first quarter to date are satisfactory with hire starts having increased by almost 90% on the same period last year. We are focussing on improving the productivity of the account wins announced at the year end and we continue to negotiate other relationship opportunities with dealers, dealer groups and automotive manufacturers. "The Audi Accident Aftercare service announced recently has now been launched into the Audi dealer network. From a total population of 120 dealers, 75% are now contracted or in the process of finalising contract terms with us. The service will be launched to Audi customers by the end of July as planned. "We are also pleased to report that we have recently agreed a payment protocol with a 'Top 3' insurer. This protocol involves both the basis for communicatingand submitting future credit hire claims to its electronic platform and the agreed settlement of the bulk of the existing claims currently outstanding with that insurer. "The DCML business acquired recently is currently performing in line with management expectations and we are pleased to announce further growth in our customer base following the decision by Dixon Motor Holdings Limited to use our software to manage their courtesy car fleet and provide courtesy car insurance across their 42 dealerships. DCML now operates through 1,182 dealer outlets. "We have an excellent pipeline of potential new referral agreements with leadingmotor dealerships and leasing and contract hire companies and also expect to strengthen further our relationships with car manufacturers and insurance companies over the coming year. The Board remains confident of achieving a further year of strong performance. "I shall be retiring from the Board at the conclusion of the AGM when DavidGalloway (currently our non-executive Deputy Chairman) becomes Non-ExecutiveChairman. It has been a pleasure working with David over the last year. He hasalready made a considerable contribution to the performance and dynamic of yourBoard and it will be his privilege to lead the Group through its next phase ofgrowth." ENDS Contacts: Accident Exchange Group PlcSteve Evans, Chief Executive 08700-116 719Martin Andrews, Group Finance Director 08700-053 649 BanksideSteve Liebmann or Simon Bloomfield 020-7367-8888 About Accident Exchange Based in Coleshill, West Midlands, Accident Exchange delivers accident management and other solutions to automotive and insurance related sectors. Quoted on AIM, the stock code is LSE: ACE. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
ACE.L