Midwich Group Regulatory News (MIDW)

18 January 2017

Midwich Group Plc

("Midwich" or "the Group")

Pre-close Trading Statement

Midwich, a specialist audio visual and document solutions distributor to the trade market, is today providing a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2016.

The Group's trading momentum continued in the the second half of the year and it also benefited from the continued weakness in Sterling. Growth was seen across all of the Group's divisions, in particular its overseas businesses, and it has seen a better than expected contribution from its most recent UK acquisition, Holdan.

Consequently, the Board now expects to report revenue for 2016 of approximately £370 million, representing growth of around 18 per cent over prior year. Movements in exchange rates account for approximately 3 per cent of this growth. The Group has delivered this revenue growth and continued to improve gross margins in line with the Board's expectations. 

As a result of this strong performance, the Board now anticipates reporting adjusted profit before tax for 2016 comfortably ahead of its previous expectations.

Midwich will announce its final results for the year ended 31 December 2016 on 14 March 2017.

Enquiries:

Notes to editors

Midwich is a specialist AV and document solutions distributor to the trade market, with operations in the UK and Ireland, France, Germany and Australasia. The Group's long-standing relationships with over 300 vendors, including blue-chip organisations such as Samsung, LG, Epson and NEC, supports a comprehensive product portfolio across major audio visual categories such as large format displays, projectors, digital signage and printers. The Group operates as the sole or largest in-country distributor for a number of its vendors in their respective product sets. The Directors attribute this position to the Group's technical expertise, extensive product knowledge and strong customer service offering built up over a number of years. The Group has a large and diverse base of approximately 10,000 customers, most of which are professional AV integrators and IT resellers serving sectors such as corporate, education, retail, residential and hospitality. Although the Group does not sell directly to end users, it believes that the majority of its products are used by commercial and educational establishments rather than consumers.

Initially a UK only distributor, the Group now has over 500 employees across the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. A core component of the Group's growth strategy is further expansion of its international operations and footprint into strategically targeted jurisdictions.

For further information, please visit www.midwichgroupplc.com