18th Dec 2006 07:01
Cobham PLC18 December 2006 18 December 2006 Trading Update In line with its regular practice, Cobham plc ("Cobham" or "the Group") is todayupdating the market on trading prior to its 31 December 2006 year end and aheadof its preliminary results announcement on 15 March 2007. The overall trading performance of the Group in the year to date remainsconsistent with expectations and prior guidance, despite currency headwind inthe second half. For 2007 Cobham's expected transaction exposure has been hedgedat a rate broadly equivalent to the effective rate in 2006. As discussed at the time of the interim results, Cobham Air Refuelling andAuxiliary Mission Equipment and Cobham Defence Electronic Systems have continuedto perform in line with the trends reported for the first six months. Lookingforward, these divisions are expected to revert towards their medium term growthtrends over time. The Group has continued to make good progress on the implementation of theStrategic Review. In the second half of 2006, it has exited from two furtherbusinesses - Chelton Applied Composites in Sweden and Chelton Aviation in Texas.It is currently anticipated that the cumulative exceptional net profit ondisposals, since the announcement of the Strategic Review in September 2005,will be around £20m. This is expected to fund total exceptional restructuringcosts, which are anticipated in 2007 and beyond, as progress in restructuringthe portfolio accelerates. The Board is confident that Cobham's strong order book of approximately £1.6bn,robust balance sheet and the further encouraging progress on implementation ofits strategy, will serve to position it well in rapidly growing markets andenhance its future growth prospects. - ends - ENQUIRIES Cobham plcAllan Cook, Chief Executive +44 (0)1202 882020Warren Tucker, Group Financial Director +44 (0)1202 882020Julian Wais, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0)1202 857998 Weber Shandwick Square MileSusan Ellis/Kirsty Raper +44 (0)20 7067 0700 NOTES 1. Cobham plc is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of advanced aerospace and defence systems for land, sea and air platforms. The company has five technology divisions and one in the service sector that collectively specialise in the provision of components, subsystems and services that keep people safe, improve communications and enhance the performance of aerospace and defence platforms. 2. This document contains 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Cobham and to certain of Cobham's plans and objectives with respect to these items. Forward-looking statements are sometimes but not always identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', 'goal', or 'estimates'. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are inherently unpredictable, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or will occur in the future. There are various factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the economies, political situations and markets in which the Group operates; changes in government priorities due to programme reviews or revisions to strategic objectives: changes in the regulatory or competition frameworks in which the Group operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against or which affect the Group; changes to or delays in programmes in which the Group is involved; the completion of acquisitions and divestitures and changes in exchange rates. All written or verbal forward-looking statements, made in this document or made subsequently, which are attributable to Cobham or any other member of the Group or persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. Cobham does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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