Plexus Regulatory News (POS)

26 Jan 2009 07:00



Plexus Holdings PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: POS / Sector: Oil equipment & services

26 January 2009

Plexus Holdings PLC ('Plexus' or 'the Company')

Renewal, Increase, and Extension of Bank Facilities 

Plexus Holdings PLC, the AIM listed oil and gas engineering services business, is pleased to announce that it has secured a 25% increase in its banking facilities after completing annual renewal negotiations with the Bank of Scotland Corporate ('BoSC'). Plexus now has a £4 million credit facility on a three year revolving basis with an additional £1 million overdraft facility agreed on a yearly term.

The Directors believe this increased facility together with cashflow generated from trading will enable Plexus to deliver on its short to medium term plans focussed on boosting revenues through further substantial investment in its proprietary POS-GRIP® wellhead rental inventory, R&D, infrastructure and personnel at its Aberdeen facilities.

Plexus' CEO Ben van Bilderbeek said, "We are delighted that we have been able to secure a 25% increase in our banking facilities with BoSC under such excellent terms, especially given current challenging debt market conditions.

 "We believe that the successful conclusion of these negotiations underlines the strength of Plexus' business model and the significant ongoing potential for POS-GRIP technology within the oil and gas wellhead market as well as other key product areas, which can benefit from our superior method of engineering. With this in mind, we look forward to the future with confidence and delivering interim results in March, in line with market expectations, at a time when we see the weakening of Sterling as a potential boost for our growing non UK activities."

The terms of the facility are 2% over LIBOR for the three year revolving credit facility and 3% over BoSC base rate for the overdraft. The Directors consider the covenants attaching to these arrangements to be in line with typical covenants for such facilities and are satisfied that the Company is comfortably operating within the levels prescribed.

Plexus would like to acknowledge and thank BoSC for its ongoing and increased level of support, and is pleased that it has been able to continue and build on this longstanding banking relationship.

Douglas Bodie, Director, Bank of Scotland Corporate Aberdeen said, "We are delighted to be helping Plexus with its expansion plans, and congratulate the Plexus team on continuing to secure new contracts with the oil and gas majors. The recent contract win from Shell Brunei is impressive and a good example of technology, driven from Aberdeen, being accepted on a worldwide basis."

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Notes

Plexus Holdings PLC

Plexus, which began trading on AIM in December 2005, is an established oil and gas engineering, and services business based in Aberdeen, with offices in London, Kuala Lumpur, and a presence in Houston. It has developed a patented a method of engineering for oil and gas field wellheads and connectors, POS-GRIP, which involves elastically deforming one tubular member against another to effect gripping and sealing.

POS-GRIP wellhead systems have been used in over 130 oil and gas wells by international companies including BHP Billiton, BG International, BP, Shell, Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP), Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Gaz de France, Global Santa Fe, Maersk, Petro-Canada , RWE, Repsol, StatoilHydro, Silverstone Energy, Talisman Energy, Tullow Oil, and Wintershall.

The Company plans to accelerate the roll out of POS-GRIP technology as a superior alternative to current wellhead technology. It has particular advantages in HP/HT and X-HP/HT oil and gas environments for which there is increasing demand throughout the world. The Company's long-term goal is to develop POS-GRIP technology as the new standard for all wellhead systems. This objective includes the distribution of POS-GRIP technology through licensees to maximise market penetration.