1st Dec 2009 07:00
1 December 2009
Regenersis plc
("Regenersis" or the "Group")
AGM Trading Update
At the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of Regenersis plc (LSE: RGS.L), a leading provider of after- sales product support services to many of the world's premier technology brands, which will be held today at noon Jeff Hewitt, Non-Executive Chairman, will give the following update on trading:
"Overall the Group is performing in line with management expectations. Consistent with the comments made at the time of the preliminary results, over the summer sales of consumer technology products were below previous peaks however activity has improved more recently such that the Group is marginally ahead of the prior year as of the end of October. The balance sheet remains strong and the Group continues to operate comfortably within its banking facilities and covenants.
Following the completion of the acquisition of Total Repair Solutions ("TRS") on 1 September 2009 the Group has focused on the integration of this business. After consultation with the workforce we recently announced the closure of the mobile phone repair operations in Nottingham and, where possible, are transferring these activities to our larger sites in Warsaw and Glasgow. It is expected that the closure and transfer programme will complete before the end of December, in line with our integration timetable and on budget. Redundancy and relocation costs of £0.2 million have been incurred; in the year to 30 June 2009 Nottingham recorded losses of £0.3 million.
As part of the integration plans the Group has also announced that it will be streamlining its continuing UK mobile phone operations and combining all after-sales activities under one management team led by the former CEO of TRS, Sergio Tansini. We believe this initiative will strengthen the overall sales proposition, simplify account management and reduce support costs. It is intended that this new organisation will also take the lead in developing business across Europe in the mobile phone sector.
Further, the end-of-life 'environmental' proposition will also be integrated into the new mobile phone team to create a vertically integrated 'one stop' sales capability. This initiative will create a more compelling service proposition and drive much closer working relationships with the Group's repair based operations. The resulting realignment of management and operations in Thurrock will deliver savings of £0.2 million on an annual basis.
Our European operations have been trading well. The long-term restructuring of the German operations is now complete following the relocation of the ATM and IT businesses from Paderborn to a more suitable site near Bielefeld, whilst our facility in Sommerda continues to expand and has enjoyed a strong start to the year. In Poland our operations in Warsaw are adding more capacity and have been operating at higher volumes than anytime previously. Meanwhile the Romanian facility continues to make progress with the reinforcement of local management and new business opportunities.
As a result of the acquisition of TRS and the consequent UK integration and restructuring, together with the strength of our European operations, management believes the Group is well positioned to capitalise on opportunities as they arise and has better prospects for the future."
Enquiries:
Regenersis plc +44 (0)1865 471900
Gary Stokes, Chief Executive Officer
David Kelham, Chief Financial Officer
KBC Peel Hunt Ltd (Nominated Advisor and Broker) +44 (0)20 7418 8900
Jonathan Marren / Oliver Stratton
Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7831 3113
Matt Dixon / Nicola Biles / Charles Palmer
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