Babcock Regulatory News (BAB)

30 October 2012

Babcock International Group PLC (Babcock)

Babcock to support Hitachi on UK nuclear new-build programme

Babcock, the UK's leading engineering support services company, announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join with Hitachi Ltd (Hitachi) to plan and deliver its new nuclear reactors in the UK. The agreement follows the announcement of Hitachi's acquisition of Horizon Nuclear Power.

Under the terms of the agreement, Babcock will discuss with Hitachi and its partners, including Rolls Royce, how its skills and capabilities can be best used to support the delivery of Hitachi's nuclear new build programme in the UK. 

Peter Rogers, Chief Executive of Babcock commented:

"We are delighted to be working in partnership with Hitachi, a recognised leader in the global nuclear market. Our significant experience in the UK nuclear sector complements the international experience of Hitachi. We look forward to exploring how our skills, capabilities and experience can contribute to the delivery of this project of national strategic importance, meeting the future energy demands of the UK and creating long-term opportunities for UK companies."

Ends

Enquiries

Babcock International Group PLC 020 7355 5300

Peter Rogers

Terri Wright

FTI Consulting 020 7269 7291

Richard Mountain

Notes to Editors:

1. Babcock International Group PLC (LSE: BAB), is the UK's leading engineering support services company with 25,000 employees supporting civil and defence customers across the globe. Underlying revenue for the 2012 financial year wasc £3 billion.Babcock is the largest specialist nuclear services business in the UK, with unrivalled experience as a UK site licensee and operator. For more information please visit www.babcockinternational.com

2. Babcock is the Licensee/operator of five UK nuclear sites, the second largest after EDF in the UK, and is fully conversant with the UK nuclear regulatory regime. Babcock has a nuclear workforce of some 5,700 skilled employees with a large team of expert design, safety, license support engineering, scientists and other specialists. Over the last 4-5 years, through a series of acquisitions, we have brought together many of the UK's leading nuclear organisations.

3. Babcock has the only proven UK capability for construction of nuclear facilities, having designed, built, commissioned and successfully licensed the last major nuclear facility to be constructed in the UK, the £1 billion D154 facility which is used for refuelling the UK nuclear submarine fleet at our Devonport site.

4. Babcock is the largest module builder in the UK and is experienced in complex high quality modular manufacturing. Babcock has a major role in the integrated delivery of the new aircraft carrier project for the UK government, the largest, most complex Royal Navy ships ever built. Babcock is responsible for module construction at our Appledore facilities and final assembly at our Rosyth site.

5. Babcock's training business is the largest in the UK, delivering around 10% of all UK apprenticeships and technical training across the public and private sectors. As well as delivering learning programmes to over 20,000 learners and working with over 6,000 employer sites, Babcock is also an employer of apprentices, with around 600 technical apprenticeships across its operations.

6. Hitachi, Ltd., (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2011 (ended March 31, 2012) consolidated revenues totalled 9,665 billion yen ($117.8 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them.For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.