Chemring Regulatory News (CHG)

20th March 2018

CHEMRING GROUP PLC ("Chemring", the "Group" or the "Company")

AGM - Trading Update

Chemring Group today issues an update on current trading for the year to date, to coincide with the Company's Annual General Meeting.

Trading environment

The Group continues to see gradual recovery across all its market segments, led primarily by the US. The latest US budget should provide significant stability for US military spending.

Countermeasures

The Countermeasures segment continues to show signs of solid recovery with increased activity across all its key markets. Order intake in the period provides excellent short-term revenue coverage for the current financial year and the multi-year nature of some contracts provides good medium-term visibility.

Sensors

In Sensors, progress against the long-term US Programs of Record continues to plan, with the Group maintaining its position on the counter-IED, chemical and biological detection programmes. Key milestone decisions are expected to be made by the US Government on all three programmes during 2018. Our cyber security and technical consulting business continues to develop positively in robust market conditions.

Energetics

As previously outlined, with the completion earlier this year of a major ammunition contract into the Middle East, trading in the Energetics segment will, as expected, soften. Our focus remains on mitigating this through operational improvements and in moving away from short-term commodity products to longer-term contracting in more niche product areas, such as our Norwegian high explosives business, where trading continues to strengthen.

Balance sheet

The Group continues to invest in our key programmes and in delivering operational excellence across the portfolio. This investment is balanced with a disciplined approach to capital allocation, where maintaining a robust balance sheet remains a key priority.

Outlook

On a constant currency basis, the Board's expectations for trading for the full year remain unchanged from guidance given at the Group's full year results in January 2018. As previously indicated, the inherent seasonality of Chemring's business will mean that trading performance and cashflows will be weighted to the second half.

Interim results for the six months ended 30 April 2018 will be announced on 21 June 2018.

- ENDS -

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 Cautionary statement

This announcement contains unaudited information based on management accounts and forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as anticipate, target, expect, estimate, intend, plan, goal, believe, will, may, should, would, could, is confident, or other words of similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on any such statements because they speak only as at the date of this document and, by their very nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results, and Chemring's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

There are a number of factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are; increased competition, the loss of or damage to one or more key customer relationships, changes to customer ordering patterns, delays in obtaining customer approvals for engineering or price level changes, the failure of one or more key suppliers, the outcome of business or industry restructuring, the outcome of any litigation, changes in economic conditions, currency fluctuations, changes in interest and tax rates, changes in raw material or energy market prices, changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policies, developments in legal or public policy doctrines, technological developments, the failure to retain key management, or the key timing and success of future acquisition opportunities or major investment projects.

Chemring undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement contained within this announcement, regardless of whether those statements are affected as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save as required by law and regulations.

Notes to editors

· Chemring is a global business that specialises in the manufacture of high technology products and the provision of services to the aerospace, defence and security markets

· Employing approximately 2,700 people worldwide, and with production facilities in four countries, Chemring meets the needs of customers in more than fifty countries

· Chemring is now organised under three strategic product segments: Countermeasures, Sensors, and Energetics

· Chemring has a diverse portfolio of products that deliver high reliability solutions to protect people, platforms, missions and information against constantly changing threats

· Operating in niche markets and with strong investment in research and development, Chemring has the agility to rapidly react to urgent customer needs