Bank Irel13.375 Regulatory News (BOI)

24 Jan 2006 07:01

Biotrace International PLC24 January 2006 For Immediate Release 24 January 2006 BIOTRACE INTERNATIONAL PLC Trading Update Biotrace International Plc ("Biotrace", "the Company" or "the Group"), a leadingmanufacturer of industrial microbiology and life science products, is pleased toupdate investors with the following trading statement: Strong revenue growth was achieved across all divisions in 2005 despitedifficult trading conditions in the food sector. Good progress was made in thecore Industrial business, which benefited from a full year's contribution byTecra, acquired in June 2004 and through the acquisition in September 2005 ofMicroSafe. As anticipated, the Defence and Life Science businesses remained atsimilar levels to the previous year, before the addition of new businessacquired with MicroSafe. Biotrace continues to benefit from the high level of repeat consumable revenueswhich remained above 90% of Group revenues in 2005. This, together with asimilarly high level of sales generated from own brands and direct selling,provides the Company with high visibility of future earnings and is a solidplatform for sales growth in 2006. Ian Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Biotrace, said: "I am pleased to report that the Group continued to make good progress in 2005and is likely to report year end results in line with market expectations. Biotrace continues to be a profitable, highly cash generative business withsignificant growth potential. The recently announced collaboration with PallCorporation is a great endorsement of our proprietary technologies and will helpexpand our business in the attractive pharmaceutical market. I am optimistic about the Group's prospects and look forward to building on ourachievements in the coming year." Biotrace will announce its preliminary results for the year to 31 December 2005on Wednesday 1 March 2006. There will be a presentation to analysts on the dayat 09.30, held at the offices of Buchanan Communications, 45 Moorfields, LondonEC2Y 9AE. - ENDS - For further information, please contact: Biotrace International PlcIan Johnson, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0)1656 641 400Peter Morgan, Finance Director Buchanan CommunicationsTim Anderson/James Strong Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000 Notes to editors: Biotrace International Plc is a leading manufacturer and supplier of industrialmicrobiology and life science products. The Company is organised into threebusiness segments: Industrial, Life Sciences and Defence. The Group'sproprietary technologies are used by most of the world's leading food andbeverage manufacturers who rely on Biotrace products as an essential part oftheir quality control procedures. Industrial customers also includepharmaceutical industries, personal care product manufacturers and environmentalwater markets. The Life Sciences business manufactures highly specialisedworkstations for hospital microbiology laboratories and medical researchorganisations. The Defence segment provides systems and consumables for therapid detection of biological weapons. Formed in 1988 and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1993, Biotrace hadtotal revenues of £27 million in 2004. The Company is headquartered in Bridgend,UK with manufacturing and sales operations worldwide. Visit Biotrace atwww.biotrace.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange