25 Apr 2013 07:01
25 April 2013
Cobham INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Current Trading and Outlook
Cobham's trading performance in the first three months of the year has been in line with the Board's expectations and consistent with the full year outlook which remains unchanged. At the end of March the Group's order book was stable at £2.4bn.
Financial Position
Cobham has achieved strong operating cash conversion in the first quarter. This was offset, in part, by the £24m planned investment in the UK Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft consortium, representing the total amount required by the 2008 Shareholders' Agreement.
Cobham's balance sheet remains conservatively geared with net debt increasing modestly to £382m at the end of March (31 December 2012: £360m) due to the £39m impact of translation exchange rates on the Group's debt denominated in foreign currencies, principally the US dollar.
Board Update
Marcus Beresford, Non-executive and Senior Independent Director, will stand down from the Board at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting. The Board is grateful to Marcus for his dedicated service over nine years and his invaluable contribution during that period. Michael Wareing will assume the role of Senior Independent Director following Marcus' retirement.
Cobham has also separately announced today that Jonathan Flint, Chief Executive of Oxford Instruments plc, will join the Board as a Non-executive Director from 1 May.
As previously announced Warren Tucker, Chief Financial Officer, will stand down from the Board on 1 May 2013 and will be succeeded on the same date by Simon Nicholls, currently Group Finance Director of Senior plc. The Board would like to thank Warren for his vision and enormous contribution during 10 years of service on the Board.
Cobham's Annual General Meeting is to be held today at 12.00pm and its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2013 will be announced on 8 August 2013.
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ENQUIRIES
Cobham plc
Warren Tucker, Chief Financial Officer +44 (0)1202 882020
Julian Wais, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0)1202 857998
Brunswick
Mike Harrison/Will Carnwath +44 (0)20 7404 5959
NOTES
1. Cobham protects lives and livelihoods with its differentiated technology and know-how. The Group offers an innovative range of technologies and services to solve challenging problems across commercial, defence and security markets, from deep space to the depths of the ocean. It has market leading positions in air-to-air refuelling; aviation services; audio, video and data communications, including satellite communications; defence electronics; life support and mission equipment.
2. This document contains 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Cobham and to certain of Cobham's plans and objectives with respect to these items.
Forward-looking statements are sometimes but not always identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', 'goal', or 'estimates'. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are inherently unpredictable, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or will occur in the future.
There are various factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the economies, political situations and markets in which the Group operates; changes in government priorities due to programme reviews or revisions to strategic objectives; changes in the regulatory or competition frameworks in which the Group operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against or which affect the Group; changes to or delays in programmes in which the Group is involved; the completion of acquisitions and divestitures and changes in commodity prices, inflation or exchange rates.
All written or verbal forward-looking statements, made in this document or made subsequently, which are attributable to Cobham or any other member of the Group or persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. Cobham does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.