Avon Protection Regulatory News (AVON)

25 Jan 2007 07:01

Avon Rubber PLC25 January 2007 Embargoed until 0700 25 January 2007 Avon Rubber p.l.c. Chairman's Statement for AGM At the Annual General Meeting to be held later today the Chairman, Mr. TrevorBonner, will make the following statement:- "At the time of our Preliminary Statement at the end of November 2006 we saidthat the Group had come through a period of significant strategic change. We haddisposed of our Automotive business and closed or restructured other loss makingactivities and we said that the future focus would be on opportunities inrespiratory protection, dairy, aerosol gaskets and engineered fabrications. Weidentified our strength and position in respiratory protection following theacquisition of ISI, the launch of the new Escape Hood and the transfer intoproduction of the new M50 respirators and associated filters for the USGovernment. We noted that we had seen improvement in the overall performance ofour continuing operations and we expected significant growth from the NorthAmerican respiratory protection business. The Board believed that it had laidthe foundation for a period of exciting and profitable growth for the Group andis confident that this remains the case. "We are now supplying against a follow on order for military respirators inNorth America and expect to receive further orders which will ensure continuingproduction at no lower than the current level. We remain of the opinion thatrespiratory protection is an area of significant opportunity and growth for theGroup and we continue to work closely with the US Department of Defense toensure the smooth transition to full production of its military respirator. Thiswill be followed by the opportunity of selling these products to approvedgovernments and government departments responsible for homeland security. Demandat ISI has continued to be lower than anticipated due to delayed release offederal funding in the current budget year, but we expect an improvement inperformance as these funds become available. The new Rapid Escape Hood hasalready been supplied in significant volumes to the UK National Health Serviceand we anticipate strong demand from law enforcement agencies as well as othercommercial opportunities. We are entering an exciting growth phase inrespiratory protection over the next few years although our challenge ispredicting the timing and rate of growth for this business in the short-term. "Sales of Dairy rubberware in North America continue at a consistently highlevel and we expect this to remain the case. In Europe we have seen some growthin sales, particularly in the aftermarket. Our Engineered Fabrications businessin Mississippi has experienced substantial growth over the last twelve months.The order book remains strong and the business is producing good and consistentlevels of profit. We are seeing the benefits of the cost reductions we undertookat our UK operations in 2006 and the facility at Hampton Park West is nowoperating profitably. We expect this to continue. "Based on current trading and demand we expect a return to profitability for thecontinuing businesses in the first half and anticipate further improvement asthe growth in respiratory protection accelerates." -Ends- Avon Rubber p.l.c. 01225 896831Terry Stead, Chief ExecutivePeter Slabbert, Finance Director Weber Shandwick | FinancialRichard Hews / Rachel Taylor / Hannah Marwood 020 7067 0700 NOTES TO EDITORS: Avon Rubber p.l.c. is an international polymer engineeringgroup adding value through material, manufacturing and industry sectorexpertise. The Group is currently capitalised at approximately £50 million. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange