(Alliance News) - TT Electronics PLC on Tuesday said its 2020 annual revenue will be lower than in 2019, though the final two months of the year fell only slightly short as trading continued to improve.
The engineered electronics and manufacturing services company said improvement trends, seen to the end of October, have persisted, with revenue for November and December only 4% lower year-on-year on an organic basis.
For 2020 as a whole, revenue was around GBP432 million, which was 9% lower at constant currency and 12% on an organic basis than in 2019.
Order intake is improving, with the company's order book now broadly in line with the year before.
TT has committed to repay its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments from the UK government and has included the approximately GBP1.1 million cost in its 2020 results.
For 2020, it expects to post an adjusted pretax profit in line with external expectations, including the GBP1.1 million repayment.
As at December 31, it has net debt of approximately GBP84 million, including IFRS 16 leases, meaning its net debt to underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation on a bank covenant basis is forecast at around 1.8 times.
The company expects to recommend a dividend at the time of its 2020 results announcement.
"Despite the national lockdown in the UK, and restrictions elsewhere in the world, all our facilities remain open and are delivering to customer requirements, whilst continuing to prioritise the safety of our employees," said TT.
Additionally, the company's operational trials and validation testing are continuing, with applications for regulatory approvals of its Virolens rapid Covid-19 screening device progressing. According to TT: "There is a wide range of possible outcomes, but commercial interest in the device remains significant."
Additionally, its Torotel integration is making progress and, since completing the acquisition in November, integration activity has "continued at pace" with site rebranding now complete.
Chief Executive Richard Tyson said: "TT has proven to be resilient in the face of the Covid pandemic, benefitting from the actions we have taken to improve the quality of the business. Order intake over the last few months is encouraging as we look into 2021, a year in which we expect to see continued revenue recovery and good profit growth.
"The structural growth trends in our end markets, and the self-help actions which are well underway give us confidence in our journey to double-digit margins, supported by strong cash generation and improving return on invested capital."
Shares in TT were down 0.7% at 213.52 pence in London on Tuesday afternoon.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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Tt Electronics (TTG)