19th Jul 2006 07:01
Lupus Capital PLC19 July 2006 Lupus Trading Update Lupus is pleased to report that the company is progressing very well in allareas. For the first half year to June 30, 2006 Gall Thomson had record order books,produced growing profits over last year and continues to deliver commendablecash generation. Its market remains buoyant. The £84 million acquisition of Schlegel, a leader in the manufacture andmarketing of door and window seals, was completed on April 4, 2006 and in thethree months of our half year the integration has proceeded smoothly. A number of fresh operational initiatives have been introduced such as thereassignment of production between plants, efficiency and scrap initiatives andadditional workforce recruitment at lower cost levels. In sales and marketingnew customers have been won, exports to Eastern Europe have increased, priceshave been raised to reflect higher raw material costs and there has a been arefocusing on higher margin customers and products. Under finance, workingcapital controls have been emphasised and financial analysis has initiatedtargets to recoup transportation and production costs. The incumbent managementteam is enthusiastic and motivated to continue to develop the business. Sales are up over 10 per cent year on year with the US and Germany particularlystrong thanks to new products, market share gains and a good overall globalmarket both in new build and refurbishment. We expect profit growth from these increased sales, productivity and costcontrols, leading to excellent cash generation after capital expenditure andworking capital requirements. Raw Material input costs continue to rise - these are being passed on to ourcustomers. The weakness of the dollar has had only a limited impact on thetranslation of profits. We anticipate that Lupus will produce double digit earnings per share growth duefirstly to the performance of our strong existing business, secondly thewell-priced acquisition and thirdly the reinvigorated Schlegel providing profitincreases over the previous years. The future looks stimulating and exciting. Enquiries to: Greg Hutchings 020 7976 8000 Alan Frame 020 7405 7777 July 19 2006 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Tyman