HAMP.L Regulatory News (HAMP)

30 Oct 2008 07:00



30 October 2008

Hampson Industries PLC

Further Composite Tooling Contract Win  

Hampson Industries PLC ("Hampson" or "the Group"), the international aerospace and precision engineering group, today announces that its US subsidiary, Coast Composites, Inc, has received a further order worth $4.2 million from Airbus to supply initial fuselage curing tools for the Airbus A350 XWB programme.

This additional win follows the first A350 tooling orders secured by the Group in August 2008 and takes the Group's total tooling orders on the programme to date to $27 million, all of which are expected to be delivered by early 2010. 

The orders secured to date are for the first set of tools only and it is expected that rate and derivative tools will add in excess of US $80 million of demand for Hampson's tooling businesses over the next three to four years.

Commenting on this latest win, Group Chief Executive Kim Ward said:

"This latest order underpins our expectation of the growth in demand for large, close tolerance tooling systems to enable manufacture of the latest generation of composite rich, fuel efficient aircraft. 

"Hampson is now the largest independent manufacturer of aerospace tooling systems in the world, with tooling accounting for some 45% of the group's total revenue. Our firm order books for composite tooling now stand at record levels, and with further capacity coming on line, we expect to see progressive further order growth going forward." 

Ends.

Further information:

Kim Ward, Chief Executive +44 (0)1384 472941

Howard Kimberley, Finance Director +44 (0)1384 472946

Marylene Guernier/Jonathan Gollins, M:Communications +44 (0)20 7153 1269

About the Airbus A350:

The Airbus A350 is a long range, mid-sized, wide-body family of airliners currently under development, designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787. The A350 will be the first Airbus with fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre composite and has a scheduled entry into service date of 2013.

About Hampson:

The Group's operations are structured into three business segments, serving primarily the global commercial and military aerospace and specialist engineering markets from manufacturing facilities in the UK, North America and India.

Approximately 95% of the Group's sales are derived from its aerospace activities, the balance from the market for automotive turbocharger components.

In June 2008, Hampson completed the acquisition of Odyssey Industries, Inc. and Global Tooling Systems, Inc. for a total consideration of up to USD314 million, partly financed through a £65 million placing and open offer. The Group now employs nearly 2,500 people worldwide. 

Hampson Industries PLC is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (Symbol: HAMP). For more information on Hampson: www.hampsongroup.com 

Cautionary Statement: 

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as anticipate, target, expect, estimate, intend, plan, goal, believe, will, may, should, would, could, is confident, or other words of similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on any such statements because they speak only as at the date of this document and, by their very nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results, and Hampson's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

There are a number of factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are; increased competition, the loss of or damage to one or more key customer relationships, changes to customer ordering patterns, delays in obtaining customer approvals for engineering or price level changes, the failure of one or more key suppliers, the outcome of business or industry restructuring, the outcome of any litigation, changes in economic conditions, currency fluctuations, changes in interest and tax rates, changes in raw material or energy market prices, changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policies, developments in legal or public policy doctrines, technological developments, the failure to retain key management, or the key timing and success of future acquisition opportunities or major investment projects.

Hampson undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward looking statement contained within this announcement, regardless of whether those statements are affected as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save as required by law and regulations.