James Fisher and Sons Regulatory News (FSJ)

18 Dec 2007 07:00

Fisher (James) & Sons PLC18 December 2007 18 December 2007 James Fisher and Sons plc Trading Update Following our encouraging first half performance, trading in the second half ofthe year has been consistent with the first period and in line with management'sexpectations. The marine support divisions of offshore oil and specialist technical havecontinued to trade in strong markets. In July we acquired NDT (NDT Inspectionand Testing Ltd) for up to £2.1m, which we have merged into James FisherInspection and Measurement Services Ltd and in October Pump Tools Ltd for £7.7mcash which will operate closely with RMS (Remote Marine Systems Ltd) in theiroverlapping specialist markets. Good progress has been made on the Korean andSingapore submarine rescue contracts by James Fisher Defence Ltd. The benefits of the Everard acquisition are coming through as planned. The lastof the Everard's newbuildings, mt Supremity, has recently passed its deliverysea trials and commenced trading. As part of the fleet renewal programme wehave agreed to sell three of our oldest ships:- mt Agility in October for £1.4mcash, mt Severn Fisher for £1.8m cash in December and mt Alacrity for completionin January 2008 for circa £1.4m cash, the combined book profit will be in excessof £1m. The trading outlook for 2008 continues to be promising and the managementbelieves the Group is well placed to continue to deliver increasing shareholdervalue. Contact James Fisher and Sons plc Tim Harris, Chairman 020 7614 9508 www.james-fisher.co.uk Michael Shields, Group Finance Director 01229 615 503Financial Dynamics Richard Mountain/Sophie Kernon 020 7269 7225 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange