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3 Jul 2008 07:00
Armour Group plc ("Armour" or the "Group")
Trading Update
Armour, the UK's leading consumer electronics group focused on the in-car communications and entertainment and home entertainment markets, today issues the following trading update:
Trading Statement
After an encouraging first half of the year, the Group has experienced challenging market conditions in the third quarter that have resulted in lower than expected sales volumes across the Group's operations. It is expected that the difficult trading environment that now exists in the Group's core UK market will continue for the remainder of the reporting year and into 2009. The Board expects the results for the year to be between 20% to 30% below current market expectations.
New Distribution Agreement
Armour is pleased to announce that Directed Electronics ("Directed"), part of DEI Holdings, Inc., has appointed Armour Automotive Limited ("Armour Auto") as its exclusive distributor for its automotive brands in the UK, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. Under the agreement, Armour Auto will distribute Directed's market leading consumer-branded vehicle security and remote start systems which are sold under brand names that include Viper, Clifford and Python, and mobile audio products that include the Orion brand. Armour Auto will start selling the Directed brands from 1 August 2008.
New Operating Facilities in Manchester
As part of the continued investment in and development of the Group, Armour Home's Alphason operations near Manchester are being moved into a new facility in Atherton. The move will enable the consolidation of six operating locations in the home division into a single facility that will have over 100,000 sq. ft. of warehousing, offices, product showroom and training facilities. This new facility is scheduled to be operational by the end of the financial year.
George Dexter, CEO of Armour commented:
"Directed is a market leader in vehicle security with highly respected and innovative brands. Their product portfolio is a perfect complement to our existing automotive product categories and I am confident that the Directed products will make a valuable contribution to the Group."
"Improving the Alphason operating facilities in Manchester has always been part of the acquisition plan of the Alphason business, which we acquired in 2006. The new facility will enable us to bring together the Alphason operations, which are currently spread across four sites in Atherton, as well as streamline the wider operations of our home division."
Mark Nash, Directed UK General Manager added:
"Armour is one of the leading companies in the mobile electronics market with an extensive sales, technical and customer support infrastructure. We are very excited about this partnership as we believe it will both benefit our current Directed UK dealers while also strengthening our position in the UK market."
3 July 2008
Further Details:
George Dexter Armour Group PLC Tel: 01892 502700
John Harris
Geoff Nash FinnCap Tel: 020 7600 1658
Trevor Bass Threadneedle Communications Tel: 020 7936 9666
About DEI Holdings
Headquartered in Southern California, DEI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: DEIX) is the parent company of some of the most respected brands in the consumer electronics industry. DEI Holdings is the largest designer and marketer in North America of premium home theatre loudspeakers (sold under the Polk Audio® and Definitive Technology® brand names), and consumer-branded vehicle security and remote start systems (sold under the Viper®, Clifford®, Python®, Autostart® and other brand names).
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