Gran Tierra Regulatory News (GTE)

23 Jan 2008 07:01

Gas Turbine Efficiency PLC23 January 2008 23 January 2008 Gas Turbine Efficiency plc ("GTE" or "the Group") Pre-close trading and industrial strategy update Strong growth achieved in 2007 led by industrial revenue, up six-fold GTE, a leading provider of advanced systems to enhance performance of aviationand industrial turbines, is pleased to announce strong growth in 2007 led by analmost six-fold increase in industrial based revenues and a robust order backlogfor 2008. This reflects increasing global demand for GTE's solutions for reducing fuelcosts, carbon emissions and equipment downtime. After successfully establishing the business in the aviation segment with itsexclusive partner, Pratt & Whitney during 2006, GTE achieved tremendous successin the industrial segment last year with a major expansion of this business andthe successful completion of four agreements with major Original EquipmentManufacturers (OEMs). Industrial revenues increased approximately 505% to $12.7m (2006: $2.1m). Theaviation business also continued to perform strongly by doubling its revenues to$5.2m in 2007. As a result, the Group expects its total revenue for 2007 toincrease over 270% to $17.8m compared with the corresponding period last year(2006: $4.7m). Due to a continued strong order book, the total current orderbacklog is up 36% to $7.7m compared with January 2007. Full year results for2007 are expected to be released in April. Sales to leading OEMs increased more than three-fold from $3.9m to $13m and enduser sales increased from $0.8m to $4.8m. GTE achieved this success by following a bold strategy to extend the businessmodel by completing four OEM qualifications in parallel. The Group also expandedits solutions portfolio with the acquisition of Control Center, LLC and ARESTechnology, LLC during the year. GTE added great depth and expertise to its presence in the energy servicessector with the recruitment of a number of senior level industry experts, eachwith more than 20 years track record with global turbine manufacturers. The combined strategy of acquisitions alongside organic Research & Developmenthas significantly expanded GTE's core product lines as seen below: 2006 2007 Compressor Cleaning Systems Compressor Cleaning Systems Compressor Power Augmentation Fuel Systems And Metering Control Systems and Panels Combustion Monitoring Systems Aftermarket Parts / Supply Chain On-Site Installation Services Combustion Repairs Combustion Design & Modeling Combustion Flare Modeling GTE's enhanced capabilities have established a powerful platform for long termgrowth and will continue to drive the Group in three key ways: • it moves GTE up the 'value chain' and closer to integrated solutions, positioning the Group for long term growth in the gas turbine aftermarket segment which is valued at up to $10 billion; • it opens up additional high value products to sell through existing channels and customer relationships; and finally • it creates a broader technology team and patent portfolio. During the year GTE successfully concluded discussions with several major OEMsto sign long term commercial contracts which in some cases have been expanded toinclude several new product lines. These include: five-year agreement withSolar, a Caterpillar company, which specialises in manufacturing small tomid-range turbines; a three-year extension of GTE's exclusive agreement withSiemens, AB; the three-year contract extension with Rolls Royce and a newthree-year contract with the world's largest OEM in the sector. Looking forward, GTE plans to continue this successful strategy. The Group willlook to bolster its technology breadth and development through organic R&D andopportunistic acquisitions. The Group will continue to focus on high valuesolutions in the gas turbine aftermarket segment and move to higher valueintegrated product and service solutions. Steven Zwolinski, Chief Executive Officer of GTE, commented: "The benefits ofGTE's long term strategy for the industrial segment of the business haveresulted in tremendous progress in 2007, positioning the business for long termgrowth. The integration of Control Center, LLC and Ares Technology, LLC andrecruitment of industry leading technology players has exceeded expectations,significantly enhancing the Group's capabilities, foundation for future growth,and diversification of product lines." Enquiries: Gas Turbine Efficiency plcSteven Zwolinski, CEO +46 8 546 10 528 Libertas CapitalAamir Quraishi, Matthew Hindhaugh +44 20 7569 9650 Corfin CommunicationsNeil Thapar, Harry Chathli +44 20 7977 0020 About GTE Gas Turbine Efficiency plc, whose shares are traded on London Stock Exchange'sAIM market (Ticker: GTE), designs, manufactures and markets advanced integratedsolutions for environmental, process and asset optimisation of gas turbinesprimarily in the aerospace, industrial and oil & gas sectors. These solutionsinclude cleaning systems, performance monitoring, fluid and control sub-systemsthat improve turbine performance and availability, fuel efficiency and partslife, resulting in increased profits for our clients and a cleaner environment.The Group sells its products to blue chip customers worldwide from operationalcentres in Europe and the USA. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange