Alumasc Group Regulatory News (ALU)

25 Oct 2007 07:00

Alumasc Group PLC25 October 2007 Thursday 25 October 2007 THE ALUMASC GROUP PLC - INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT "Alumasc has made a strong start" Alumasc (ALU.L), the premium building and engineering products company, isholding its Annual General Meeting at 10.30am today and is publishing its firstInterim Management Statement, as required by the UK Listing Authority'sDisclosure and Transparency Rules, in relation to the year ending 30 June 2008. * Benefiting from the rising order books reported in September's PreliminaryAnnouncement, Alumasc has made a strong start to the current financial year.Revenues from continuing operations in the first quarter to 30 September 2007increased by 25% to over £30 million with profits also well ahead, driven byfurther growth in the Building Products division, including a good first-quarterperformance from Levolux. * On a like-for-like basis, excluding Levolux (the UK's leading supplier ofsolar shading systems acquired on 1 May), group revenues from continuingoperations increased by approximately 7%. * Building Products' divisional revenues increased by over 50% to £21 million.Excluding Levolux, divisional revenues grew by almost 20%, driven by a strongstart to the year in the rainwater and drainage businesses, particularlySlotdrain, and early signs of an improvement in demand for MR Facade systemswhich are sold into the social housing refurbishment sector. * Engineering Products' divisional revenues from continuing operations reducedby 15% to £9.8 million, reflecting the expected slower start to the year atAlumasc Precision prior to the new projects with Aston Martin, Deutz andCaterpillar coming fully on-stream. This division's performance will alsobenefit from the efficiency improvement programme currently under way. * The sale of Brock is now fully complete with all sales proceeds received asanticipated at the year end. The former Copal warehouse in Birmingham was soldin September, as expected, for its book value of £0.7 million. * Group net debt reduced to £11.1 million (30 June 2007: £12.9 million), in linewith the strong trading performance. John McCall, Chairman, commented: "Alumasc has performed well in the firstquarter, particularly in the Building Products division. Levolux has continuedits good start within the group and it is reassuring to see early signs of animprovement in social housing demand. Whilst it is too early to judge whetherhigher interest rates and the recent turbulence in financial markets will affecteconomic activity later in the year, order books currently remain strong." Enquiries: The Alumasc Group plcPaul Hooper (Group Chief Executive) Tel: 01536 383821Andrew Magson (Group Finance Director) Tel: 01536 383844 Bankside ConsultantsRose Oddy Tel: 0207 367 8853 This Interim Management Statement has been drawn up and presented for thepurposes of complying with English law. Any liability arising out of or inconnection with this Interim Management Statement will also be determined inaccordance with English law. This Interim Management Statement may contain 'forward-looking statements'. Bytheir nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty becausethey relate to future events and circumstances. Many of these risks anduncertainties relate to factors beyond The Alumasc Group's control or whichcannot be estimated precisely, such as future market conditions and thebehaviour of the market participants. Actual outcomes and results may thereforediffer materially from any outcomes or results expressed or implied by any suchforward-looking statements. Nothing in this Interim Management Statement is intended to be a profitforecast. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange