25th Feb 2008 07:01
Commoditrade Inc.25 February 2008 25 February 2008 Commoditrade Inc ("Commoditrade" or "the Company") Pre-Close Trading Update Commoditrade Inc (AIM: CMM), the commodities investment company, is pleased toannounce a trading update ahead of its preliminary results announcement for theyear ending 31 December 2007, due to be released in the week commencing 21 April2008. Despite the more challenging conditions experienced in the latter part ofthe year the Board is pleased with the overall performance for the year with theCompany continuing to produce good levels of trading profits and strong cashflows, and accordingly expects profit before tax, amortisation and share basedpayments for the year ended 31 December 2007 to be not less than £16 million. The Company produced a solid performance in the first six months of 2007 withrevenues from the LME Team coming in line with expectations, based on strongvolumes, volatility and liquidity . The summer period of July and Augustreturned to more subdued market activity which was reflected in lower revenuesthrough to the third quarter. The final quarter saw lower levels of liquidityparticularly as the financial markets became less stable and investors becamemore cautious of market conditions. The resulting lower liquidity combined withnarrowing spreads led to a more challenging trading environment, particularly inthe final two months of the year when overall trading volumes becameprogressively thinner. However, notwithstanding these conditions, the tradingteam continued to generate profits as evidenced by the strong performanceoutlined above. On 26 November 2007 the Board announced that it had decided to exercise itsauthority to buy back its own shares on an opportunistic basis subject to marketconditions and since that date the Company has purchased 45,505,000 millionsshares representing 11.9 per cent of the original issued share capital at atotal cost of £11.22 million. The Company has 336,768,114 Ordinary Shares inissue and this figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for thecalculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify theirinterest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company. As the Company is now entering a close period, the Board has closed the buy backprogramme with immediate effect. The board continues to remain alert to opportunities for developing theCommoditrade business in line with its stated strategy of creating a group thatcombines commodities expertise with complementary trading areas. Graham Butt, Chief Executive, Commoditrade Inc, said: "The Company has performed well in 2007. Despite more challenging conditionscontinuing into the current financial year, volatility and liquidity levels areshowing signs of improvement and the Board will continue to assess opportunitiesto develop the Commoditrade business as they arise." Enquiries: Graham Butt, Chief ExecutiveCommoditrade Inc tel: +44(0)20 7250 1100 James Harris, Strand Partners tel: +44(0)20 7409 3494 John Bick, Hansard Group tel: +44(0)20 7245 1100 www.commoditrade.net This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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