3rd May 2012 11:00
3rd May 2012 AGA RANGEMASTER GROUP PLC AGM AND INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
AGA Rangemaster Group plc is holding its Annual General Meeting at 11am today at which the following statement relating to the four month period to 28th April 2012 will be made by the Chairman, John Coleman.
"2011 was a year in which the Group made clear cut progress through new products and innovations and strengthened business processes.
In terms of current trading, I reiterate my comments made in the Financial Statements that we went into 2012 expecting markets to remain tough and so we are continuing to take effective measures to improve efficiencies and lower the cost base.
The level of housing transactions in our core geographies remains subdued and we do not foresee that trend improving in the near term. Therefore there has to be a continuing focus on delivering new product and marketing initiatives. The epitome of our product development work is the new programmable AGA Total Control which is becoming established in the UK and is now available on the Continent and in North America. From this we expect to see growth in AGA sales - particularly as we add the additional feature of making the AGA remotely controllable by smart phone and by text.
For the Group, overall orders are coming through as expected at around 2011 levels, with our largest brand by sales Rangemaster, performing steadily. Amongst our other brands, Fired Earth is performing well but operations in Ireland are much more subdued. With the Jubilee celebrations and Olympics taking centre stage this year, we will see an international focus on all things British. As true British brands pioneering heritage with innovation, we feel AGA and Rangemaster are particularly well placed to impress both domestic and overseas customers and so we continue to look to 2012 optimistically."
Enquiries:
William McGrath / Shaun Smith, AGA Rangemaster Group plc - 01926 455 731 Simon Sporborg / Charlotte Kenyon, Brunswick - 0207 404 5959
XLONRelated Shares:
AGA.L