LONDON (Alliance News) - Tex Holdings PLC Wednesday said it was cautiously optimistic for the rest of 2014 after trading in the first quarter improved on the year-earlier period thanks to the winding down of a problematic contract in its air traffic control room unit.
It said its order book had reduced, and the pace of order conversion has slowed even though the level of enquiries had been maintained.
The company said its plastics division is continuing to suffer from fluctuations in orders, leading to shorter lead times which incur higher costs. It said it is continuing to control costs in line with delivery requirements.
It added that its BSP International Foundations and Tex Engineering units are trading ahead of its expectations, but Eurotex International has been impacted by delays in projects as a result of a client temporarily deferring maintenance on two vessels.
The air traffic control room unit, meanwhile, has now installed the first flying control room for the aircraft carrier project and is due to be glazing the control room in the third quarter. It will also shortly complete the Muscat control room project. There are a number of live tenders for control rooms that are expected to be closed shortly, it added.
It said its Boards & Panels division is trading above the expectations in the company's budget as a result of the small upturn in the leisure vehicle market and the on-going project with Karndean.
"Whilst recognising the current trading uncertainties world-wide, the board is cautiously optimistic for the remainder of the year and the business is being managed in order to mitigate commercial risk," it said.
Tex Holdings shares were up 1.8% at 84 pence Wednesday morning.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @SteveMcGrath1
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