Last checked at 12 Aug 2011 07:00
12 August 2011
Carclo plc
("Carclo" or "the Group")
Interim Management Statement
Trading continues to be in line with our expectations and we remain confident of a further year of progress for the group as a whole.
Technical Plastics continues to benefit from growth in its medical diagnostic business and our newly established Indian operation has seen especially strong demand. Last year's first half profit in Technical Plastics was unusually strong due to the timing of tooling contracts. In the current year the division will revert to the normal profit pattern with stronger second half profits.
In Precision Products, specialist LED lighting sales at Wipac continue to grow and, as announced with our preliminary results, we have been awarded two new substantial supercar programmes. We are involved in a number of other interesting new projects which, if confirmed, will add further growth in this business. Our withdrawal from the supply of automotive antennas and cables to Ford is proceeding to plan and will be essentially complete by the end of this financial year. The aerospace businesses continue to perform well.
Conductive Inkjet Technology ("CIT") completed the validation of the Gen 3 technology for fine line touch screens as planned at the end of June. The migration from Gen 2 to Gen 3 was more challenging than we anticipated and it is to the credit of the team at CIT that validation was achieved on time. Our next target is to be fully production ready by the end of September - recent progress is encouraging and we are confident of meeting this next milestone. We continue to expect volume production to commence in our fourth quarter.
The Group's financial position remains strong. In our preliminary results announcement we stated that discussions had commenced with our banks in order to achieve an early renewal of the Group's committed bank facilities. Good progress has been made in these discussions and we now expect to complete our re-financing ahead of schedule during the next few months.
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Enquiries: |
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Carclo plc | 01924 268040 |
Ian Williamson, Chief Executive |
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Robert Brooksbank, Finance Director |
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Weber Shandwick Financial | 020 7067 0700 |
Nick Oborne / Stephanie Badjonat / Robert Cook |
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Notes to editors
·; Carclo plc is a technology led plastics group. It is a public company whose shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange.
·; Two thirds of sales are derived from the supply of fine tolerance, injection moulded plastic components, which are used in medical, optical and electronics products. This business, Carclo Technical Plastics, operates internationally in a fast growing and dynamic market underpinned by rapid technological development.
·; A third of sales are derived from the supply of specialised precision products to the premium automotive and aerospace industries. Carclo is a leader in the development of high power LED lighting for supercars.
·; Carclo's strategy is to develop new technologies and products to drive future growth. Its investment in Conductive Inkjet Technology is at the heart of the newly emerging market for very low cost printed electronics.