Hunting Regulatory News (HTG)

26 Jun 2007 07:01

Hunting PLC26 June 2007 26 June 2007 Hunting PLC ("Hunting", the "Company") Trading Update Trading conditions continue to be robust. The Board remains confident on theoutlook for the year as performance is in line with internal expectations. Dennis Proctor, Hunting's Chief Executive, said: "The global thirst for energy continues to provide growth opportunities for theGroup. Gibson Energy's truck transportation business continues to enjoy strongdemand as a result of the high levels of heavy oil project activity in Canada.The recent acquisition of Boychuk Energy on lst June 2007 for £6.3m has added 5per cent of additional capacity to our fleet. Marketing continues to benefitfrom the volatile commodity prices and the increasing utilisation of itsEdmonton North facility. Due to a slow start in drilling activity and unusuallywet weather, Moose Jaw Refinery is marginally behind expectations. Asphaltprices are up year-on-year and well site fluid deliveries should catch up in thesecond half. Canwest Propane has had an excellent start to the year with highermargins. In Hunting Energy, global drilling increases have benefited all products andservices, especially in the North Sea and Asia. Exploration and Productionspending forecasts have risen from a 7 per cent increase over 2006 to 13 percent. Order books remain strong and contracts received in 2006 are now beingdelivered. Its 14 global manufacturing facilities are nearing full capacity,however, expansion plans are in place to provide for future volume growth. Capital expenditure is forecast to exceed 2006 levels by approximately 50% totake advantage of the opportunities from the increase in customer demand. We remain mindful of the potential impact of exchange rates on our results." Hunting's Interim Results for the six months to 30th June 2007 will be announcedon Thursday, 30th August 2007. For further information, please contact: Hunting PLCDennis Proctor, Chief Executive Tel: 001 281 442 7382Dennis Clark, Finance Director Tel: 020 7321 0123 Hogarth Partnership Limited Tel: 020 7357 9477Andrew JaquesJohn OlsenAnthony Arthur Notes to Editors: Hunting PLC is an international oil services company providing solutions to theworld's oil and gas companies. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange