AGA.L Share News (AGA)

Upmarket cooker maker Aga Rangemaster said after a slow summer, sales are starting to pick up in its key autumn period.Order levels in key areas are above those of late 2008 and the first half of 2009 when the sharp decline in the housing market fed through to weak order intake, the group said. However order levels continue to be below those of two years ago.Chief executive William McGrath commented, "An improving mood in the housingmarket and consumer enthusiasm for our core products is evident in the brightersales outlook this autumn."At the start of the financial year, Aga set a target of having morecash in the bank at the end of 2009 than the £5.8m with which it startedthe year. The focus on cash management including working capital reductionsmeans that this target will be exceeded, it said.The group said it continues to focus generating cash and tightening costs and it is "progressing well with combining AGA and Rangemaster operations in the UK."