DiscoverIE Regulatory News (DSCV)

For Release

7.00am, 19 April 2011

Acal plc

Fourth Quarter Trading Update

Continuing strong growth with Group like for like sales1 up 17%

Acal plc (LSE : ACL, "The Group"), the European specialist provider of technology products and services, is today issuing a trading update for its year ended 31 March 2011, ahead of the announcement of its preliminary results on 1 June 2011.

The Board is pleased to report that, since its second interim management statement on 3 February 2011, trading has continued to remain strong. In the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2011, Group like for like sales1 increased by 17% year on year.

Group sales continue to be driven by a strong Electronics order book. The Electronics division (which accounts for approximately 78% of Group sales) reported a fourth quarter increase in like for like sales1 of 21% despite more challenging comparators.

Sales of products manufactured in Japan (all of which are in the Electronics division and represent approximately 4% of Group revenues), were not significantly impacted by the earthquake in mid March and Acal has continued to meet its customers' needs. 

The acquisition of Compotron GmbH ("Compotron"), a specialist provider of electronic communication components, was completed with effect from 1 January 2011. Since the acquisition, Compotron has performed well and ahead of our expectations.

In the non-Electronics businesses (approximately 22% of Group sales), total like for like sales1 in the fourth quarter were up 7%.

As a result, we expect full year results for this year to be ahead of our previous expectations.

Nick Jefferies, Group Chief Executive commented:

"We continue to see good trading conditions in the Electronics Division across Europe. With its strong order book, Electronics like for like sales1 increased by 21% in the last quarter.

Overall, Group sales increased by 17%, with the non-Electronics businesses showing improved performance despite continued softness in our UK Medical business.

The Board remains confident that our strategy for growth both organically and by further targeted acquisitions will continue to build long term value for shareholders."

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Notes to the Trading Update

1. Like for like sales are at constant exchange rates, including acquisitions for the whole of the comparative period and excluding the ATM Parts business (effective disposal date 30 September 2010) and a material non-core Supply Chain contract terminated at the end of the last financial year. Compotron, which was acquired in the fourth quarter, has not been included in like for like sales.

 Notes to Editors:

About Acal plc

The Acal Group is a leading technology-based specialist distributor in Europe providing sales, marketing and other services through three divisions: Electronics, Supply Chain and Medical. The Electronics Division distributes electronic and photonic products to industrial manufacturing and design companies. The Supply Chain Division provides inventory optimisation and outsource solutions to leading technology service providers while the Medical Division supplies advanced medical equipment to public and private healthcare providers. Acal has operating companies in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain and the Nordic region.