Cropper (J) Regulatory News (CRPR)

27 April 2012

James Cropper PLC (the "Company")

Trading Update

James Cropper plc, the niche specialist paper and materials group, provides the following update on trading for the year ended 31 March 2012.

In a challenging economic climate, the Company has performed well at the operating level, with pre-exceptional profit before tax (before provision for redundancies and IAS19 pension adjustments) for the year ended 31 March 2012 expected to be in line with market expectations.

In late March 2012 the Company advised its employees of its intent to embark on a restructuring process which would lead to changes in working practices. This process, which will reduce the size of the Company's UK workforce by eight per cent. during the course of 2012, is expected to result in cost savings of approximately £1.0m on an annualised basis. The resultant increase in productivity will improve the Company's competitive position. The capacity and capability of the Company's three businesses will be unaffected by this process.

Although the redundancy programme is in its early stages, with no severance commitments having been made, the Company's auditors have identified that it is necessary to recognise a provision of approximately £0.8m in the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2012.

Enquiries:

James Cropper PLC

John Denman, Group Finance Director

Tel: 01539 722 002

www.cropper.com

Westhouse Securities Limited

Adam Lloyd

Paul Gillam

Tel: 020 7601 6100