19th Dec 2007 07:02
Cobham PLC19 December 2007 #22819 December 2007 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 2007 year end and aheadof its preliminary results announcement on 6 March 2008. Consistent with expectations and the first half, the technology divisions havecontinued to achieve strong organic revenue growth. Group trading profit in theeleven months to the end of November 2007 was ahead of the prior year, despitecurrency headwind. The Air Refuelling and Auxiliary Mission Equipment Divisionhas had extremely strong order intake in the second half and current trading isconsistent with previous guidance that 2007 trading profit in this division willbe considerably ahead of the prior year. In 2008 Cobham will continue to progress the implementation of its strategy andplans to consolidate its existing six divisions into four, to achieve thefollowing business and commercial advantages: • Broader scope for technology development; • Increased potential for synergies from the integration of operating units; • Greater management strength in depth at the divisional level; • Significantly enhanced Cobham sales and marketing presence in USA; • More extensive use of the Cobham brand name, increasing customer recognition. These four divisions will be: • Cobham Avionics and Surveillance; • Cobham Defence Electronics Systems; • Cobham Mission Systems; and • Cobham Aviation Services. Cobham Defence Electronic Systems and Cobham Avionics & Surveillance are to beenlarged by absorbing the military and commercial businesses respectively ofCobham Antennas. A Cobham Mission Systems Division will be formed from LifeSupport and Air Refuelling & Auxiliary Mission Equipment to focus on electromechanical equipment. Cobham Flight Operations and Services will be renamedCobham Aviation Services and will have the responsibility for managing Cobham'sinvolvement in the FSTA programme. It is anticipated that the divisional consolidation will reinforce existingGroup organic growth expectations and increase the potential for the technologydivisions to achieve growth rates in excess of this. It is intended that fullyear 2007 results will be disclosed according to the new divisional structure. Adetailed construct of the new divisions and the historical financial performanceby division are available on the Cobham website, www.cobham.com. In October, the Group signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Boeing IntegratedDefense Systems to provide the composite Body Fuel Tank System for the KC-767Advanced Tanker. As a result of this important development, Cobham will now havea substantial programme position on the USAF KC-X programme regardless of theplatform selected. In December, Cobham announced a £9 million contract,including spares and support, to supply and integrate its 754 buddy storerefuelling system on SU-30 MKM fighters for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The Group agreed to acquire S-TEC Corporation ('S-TEC'), subject to regulatoryapproval, for a cash consideration of US$38 million in November. S-TEC is anexcellent technological and market fit in the development of a Cobham cockpit ofavionics. Completion of the purchase is anticipated around the year end. Also in December, Cobham completed the acquisition of the assets andintellectual property of Advanced Design and Development Electronics Inc('ADDE') for a cash consideration of US$5 million. ADDE is a market leader inminiature linear cryogenic cooler products used in military and commercialinfrared systems for observation, guidance, targeting and missile warningdetection. It will be integrated into Cobham's Life Support Division inDavenport, Iowa, USA. Cobham's strategy is to build on its leading positions in rapidly growingmarkets by increasing its investment in technology and through capabilityenhancing acquisitions. Coupled with its operational improvement programme,strong order book of approximately £1.7 billion and robust balance sheet, theBoard remains confident the Group is well positioned for continuing profitablegrowth. - 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 FinancialSusan Ellis/Louise Robson +44 (0)20 7067 0700 NOTES 1. Cobham plc is an international company engaged in the development, deliveryand support of advanced aerospace and defence systems for land, sea and airplatforms. Cobham specialises in the provision of components, subsystems andservices that keep people safe, improve communications and enhance theperformance of aerospace and defence platforms. 2. This document contains 'forward-looking statements' with respect to thefinancial 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 useof 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 inherentlyunpredictable, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relateto events and depend on circumstances that may or will occur in the future. There are various factors that could cause actual results and developments todiffer materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-lookingstatements. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in theeconomies, political situations and markets in which the Group operates; changesin government priorities due to programme reviews or revisions to strategicobjectives: changes in the regulatory or competition frameworks in which theGroup operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against or which affectthe 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 madesubsequently, which are attributable to Cobham or any other member of the Groupor persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety bythe factors referred to above. Cobham does not intend to update theseforward-looking statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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