15th Feb 2008 07:00
Hampson Industries PLC15 February 2008 Hampson Industries PLC Interim Management Statement Hampson Industries PLC ("Hampson" or "the Group"), the international aerospaceand precision engineering group, today issues its second Interim ManagementStatement as required by rule 4.3 of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules ofthe UK Listing Authority. Aerospace Demand in the Group's core aerospace markets has continued to remain verybuoyant. With 2,876 orders for new commercial aircraft taken by Airbus andBoeing, 2007 has been a record year for order intake in the aerospace industry.Orders have now been placed for over 6,900 new aircraft in the last three years. At 31 December 2007, the combined order book of Airbus and Boeing stood at6,848 aircraft, an increase of 37% compared to the same position in 2006, and a14% increase since September 2007. With seven and a half years of work now inbacklog, OEM production rates are set to continue to rise progressively over thenext two years. In these buoyant market conditions, the Group's aerospace portfolio has, asexpected, extended its strong first half performance. Each of the Group'saerospace businesses has generated improved operating performance. Inparticular, CHI, the specialist high temperature composites business acquired inJanuary 2007, has continued to perform at levels above the Group'spre-acquisition expectations and, with growing share on the F-35 programme, hasseen its order book reach record levels. Increasing the Group's exposure to thetrend towards increased use of composite structures remains a key strategicgrowth priority. As previously reported, a full and final settlement has been reached withEclipse Aviation concerning all outstanding claims and disputes and the Groupcontinues to work with Eclipse to support efficient production of the Very LightJet programme. Automotive Turbocharger The previously planned improvements in operational performance in the AutomotiveTurbocharger business have been achieved substantially as expected. As aresult, losses incurred during the first half year have been extinguished andprofitability restored to the division. Targeted business improvementactivities remain on-going across the business with the result that efficiencylevels should increase further in the final quarter of 2007/08 and into thefollowing year. Board The Board is pleased to announce the appointment, with effect from 1 March 2008of Stephen Henwood as Non-Executive Director. A Chartered ManagementAccountant, Stephen Henwood has held a number of senior positions within BAESystems, latterly as Group Managing Director, International Programmes. He iscurrently a Non-Executive Director of Nord Anglia Education plc. There are no other disclosures relating to Stephen Henwood's appointment underListing Rule 9.6.13 (1) to (6). Outlook The outlook for aerospace remains largely unchanged from previous guidance.Demand in the global commercial aerospace market is expected to continue toremain strong for the foreseeable future. Military aerospace demand is alsoexpected to remain robust. Against this background, the Group's principalaerospace businesses are expected to continue to perform strongly. The Group'sorder book remains strong and the Board will continue to pursue opportunitiesfor further growth. Results for the automotive turbocharger business areexpected to continue to show progressive improvement during the final quarter ofthe current financial year and a marked improvement in the following financialyear. The Board is confident that the Group will meet its expectations for the currentyear. Ends. Further information: Kim Ward, Chief Executive +44 (0)1384 472941 Howard Kimberley, Finance Director +44 (0)1384 472946 Jonathan Gollins/Marylene Guernier, M:Communications +44 (0)207 153 1269 About Hampson: Hampson Industries PLC is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange(Symbol: HAMP). The Group's operations are structured into three segments,operating from 14 manufacturing facilities spanning three continents. Throughits international operations, the Group provides leading-edge, fully-integratedengineering and manufacturing solutions for: • Advanced aero structural components and assemblies • Performance-critical components for gas turbine engines • Close tolerance components & rotating assemblies for automotive turbochargers • Precision tooling systems for large, composite aero structures Approximately 85% of the continuing Group's sales are derived from its aerospaceactivities, the balance from the specialist automotive markets. The Hampson group employs over 1,900 people worldwide. For more information onHampson: www.hampsongroup.com This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are based on currentexpectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. Theseforward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relateonly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use wordssuch as anticipate, target, expect, estimate, intend, plan, goal, believe, will,may, should, would, could, is confident, or other words of similar meaning.Undue reliance should not be placed on any such statements because they speakonly as at the date of this document and, by their very nature, they are subjectto known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by otherfactors that could cause actual results, and Hampson's plans and objectives, todiffer materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-lookingstatements. There are a number of factors which could cause actual results to differmaterially from those expressed or implied in forward looking statements. Amongthe factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from thosedescribed in the forward-looking statements are, increased competition, the lossof or damage to one or more key customer relationships, changes to customerordering patterns, delays in obtaining customer approvals for engineering orprice level changes, the failure of one or more key suppliers, the outcome ofbusiness or industry restructuring, the outcome of any litigation, changes ineconomic conditions, currency fluctuations, changes in interest and tax rates,changes in raw material or energy market prices, changes in laws, regulations orregulatory policies, developments in legal or public policy doctrines,technological developments, the failure to retain key management, or the keytiming and success of future acquisition opportunities or major investmentprojects. Hampson undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward lookingstatement contained within this announcement, regardless of whether thosestatements are affected as a result of new information, future events orotherwise, save as required by law and regulations. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
HAMP.L