13th Feb 2008 07:00
UMECO PLC13 February 2008 13 February 2008 Umeco plc Interim Management Statement Umeco plc, an international provider of supply chain services and advancedcomposite materials primarily to the aerospace & defence industries, todaypublishes its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 October 2007 to12 February 2008, with financial information relating to the period 1 October2007 to 31 January 2008. Current trading Trading in the period from 1 October 2007 has been encouraging with the Group'sbusiness activities performing in line with the Board's expectations. Orderintake continues to be strong, and was 23 per cent ahead of revenue in the fourmonths to 31 January 2008. This reflects the continuing growth in demand for theGroup's products and services, demonstrated by the extended relationship withRolls-Royce plc announced in November 2007. The period from 1 October 2007 has witnessed volatility in exchange rates andfluctuations in interest rates, although these factors are not expected to havea material effect upon the Group's results for the year to 31 March 2008. Net debt at 31 January 2008 was £86 million compared to £94 million at 30September 2007, reflecting the £36 million proceeds from the divestment of ourRepair & Overhaul operations in November 2007. Subject to the effects ofexchange rate movements, net debt at 31 March 2008 is expected to be in linewith market expectations. Umeco Composites Umeco Composites continues to trade very strongly, reflecting the ongoing growthin use of advanced composite materials in a number of markets. Revenue from thewind energy industry remains a significant element of our future businessdevelopment. Advanced Composites Group ('ACG') continues to capitalise on its leading marketposition. The UK operation is performing particularly well although, asanticipated and previously reported, the US business continues to experiencelower demand due to specific external issues at two of its customers but theseare now showing some signs of recovery. The ACG brand name is being adopted by Primco, which was acquired in November2007 for a cash consideration of £3.0 million. Primco's composite materials,manufacturing technologies and applications are highly complementary to those ofACG and JD Lincoln, and have enlarged the Group's range of composite materialstechnologies and aerospace qualifications. The integration is progressing toplan and Primco has traded well in the period since acquisition. JD Lincoln has performed very solidly against the expectations at the time ofthe acquisition, and the local management team has been strengthened by therecruitment of a Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Within the chemicals supply businesses, RD Taylor's long term contract withGoodrich Prestwick has been successfully renewed, and an extension has beenagreed on the major contract Aeropia has with British Airways. Umeco Supply Chain Umeco Supply Chain has continued to enjoy strong demand from its OEM customerbase, particularly in the UK although operations in France have not yet attainedtheir critical mass. In November 2007, a significant extension to the Group's long term supply chaincontract with Rolls-Royce plc was announced, through which the Group will beproviding Rolls-Royce plc with a much broader range of products and services.This extended contract will be serviced through a new £7.1 million freeholdfacility in Derby, which is now on stream, and the orders arising from thecontract extension are now being received at the envisaged rate. As a part ofthe revised agreement, the contract timeframe has also been extended by afurther five years and will now run until December 2015. Pattonair Fort Worth has won additional business from existing and new customerswhich improves the outlook for this business. A new Vice President of Financehas been recruited to strengthen further the management team. Umeco Supply Chain is working towards securing further significant contractsfrom both current and prospective customers. Umeco Repair & Overhaul Umeco Repair & Overhaul was divested on 1 November 2007. Trading in the periodfrom 1 October 2007 to the date of divestment was in line with expectations. Outlook The Repair & Overhaul divestment has enabled the Group to focus all of itsmanagement and financial resources on further developing the core businesses ofComposites and Supply Chain. With their greater scale, market positioning andhigher level of organic growth, these offer significantly more attractiveopportunities for the Group. The Group's composite materials activity will benefit substantially from therecent acquisitions of JD Lincoln and Primco, and will enable the Group to offerour existing customers a wider range of material technologies, whilst allowingACG to consolidate further its market leading position in the continuouslyevolving composite arena. Growth is expected to come not only in the aerospacemarket but also from other markets we serve, including the fast expanding windenergy market The significant extension of Umeco's long term supply chain contract withRolls-Royce will enhance further the Group's excellent growth prospects. Boeing's recent announcement of delays in the first flight of the 787 is notexpected to impact the Group's medium term performance materially, and thelonger term prospects for the 787 programme remain strong. Following theproduction delays of the past 18 months, the Airbus A380 programme is nowproceeding at the expected pace. At the end of December 2007, Airbus and Boeing had a backlog of over 6,800aircraft, having collectively delivered 894 aircraft in 2007. Deliveries in 2008are forecast to rise by 8 per cent to over 960 aircraft. Long term prospects forthe civil aerospace market overall remain strong as a result of the high levelof economic growth in the Middle East, Far East and China, and the replacementprogrammes being implemented by Western carriers. In summary, Umeco has enjoyed another encouraging period of trading performance,and the outlook remains very positive. - Ends - For further information, please contact:- Umeco plc Tel: +44 (0) 1926 331 800Clive Snowdon, Chief ExecutiveDoug Robertson, Finance Directorwww.umeco.com Hogarth Partnership Tel: +44 (0) 20 7357 9477John OlsenBarnaby Fry Notes Umeco has a policy of not issuing pre-close or post-close trading statements.Accordingly, the next scheduled update on the Group's performance will be theannouncement of results for the year to 31 March 2008. This will be released on3 June 2008. The information in this announcement is based upon unaudited managementaccounts. Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking statements.Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number ofrisks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materiallyfrom any expected future events or results referred to in these forward lookingstatements. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation oraccounting standard, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise anyforward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, futuredevelopments or otherwise. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Ubsetfusmca