SEPU.L Regulatory News (SEPU)

15 Feb 2008 07:00

Sepura PLC15 February 2008 INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT - SEPURA plc Sepura plc, a global leader in the design, manufacture, and supply of TETRAdigital radios, used predominantly by the emergency services around the world,issues the following Interim Management Statement. This statement, as requiredby the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, refers toSepura's trading results for the period 1 October 2007 to 15 February 2008. The Directors of Sepura believe that demand for the Company's products willcontinue to grow due to the ongoing rollout of TETRA networks around the world,continued demand from existing networks, and the further strengthening ofSepura's position as a leading supplier of TETRA radio terminals. Q3 to 31 December 2007 For the nine month period, revenue in the International business was ahead ofexpectations. In the quarter, there were significant sales in Hungary, Sweden,and the Netherlands and other wins in China, Belgium, Spain, and Russia. Firstsales were made in Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand. In the quarter,sales were made to 49 countries, representing a diverse and robust mix ofpredominantly Public Safety end-users. In the Half Year to September, sales weremade to 60 countries. Worthy of note is that Sepura was the only direct supplier selected, of threeapproved suppliers, to the Dutch public safety replacement contract, whichrepresents a market opportunity of circa 80,000 radios over the next 3-5 years.In addition, the German market is now opening, with Bavaria announcing its plansfor the first major police tender for TETRA radios. TCB in China completed thefirst pre-production build of Sepura radios during December and established fullmanufacturing capability in January. For the nine month period, the UK business saw delays in order receipt on twomajor projects. The Company now expects to receive the orders and to ship duringQ4. In the quarter, the Company continued to make sales to a large number ofexisting and new customers and, in particular, it secured the replacement of2000 radios for an existing UK police customer and continued to supply radios toUK Ambulance Trusts and the Metropolitan Police under existing major contracts.Visibility of the replacement market is good, with the Company engaged with asignificant number of existing customers who will begin replacing older TETRAradios over the coming year. In the quarter, the Company won a number of new orders for surveillance productsin both UK and International markets, and maintained its very strong marketperformance in surveillance. Sales of surveillance products have now been madein 15 countries. Current Trading International year-to-date revenues are ahead of expectations, offsetting partlya shortfall in UK year-to-date revenues largely arising from delays on twoprojects. The Company's current expectations are that deliveries on theseprojects, both of which are already won, will be made in the final quarter.Therefore, the Board's expectations for the full year broadly remain unchanged;however, the outcome will depend on the delivery profile of these two projects. The Company expects its next report to shareholders to be the PreliminaryAnnouncement of the 2007/08 Results, which it plans to issue during the lastweek of May, followed by its Annual Report intended to be issued in mid June andits AGM due to take place in July. Philip Nolan, Non- Executive Chairman, commented: "At the end of the third quarter of the financial year, the Company continues tomake strong progress. I am particularly encouraged by the increasing momentum ininternational markets where sales are ahead of expectations. Our position in theUK, our largest and most important single market, remains strong. The Board remains extremely confident in the Company's long-term prospects andbelieve that the Company has made significant progress on all fronts since theIPO. We see continuing strong demand in the TETRA market and are encouraged tosee that the German market, which is potentially one of the largest TETRAmarkets in the world, is now emerging. The Bavarian Police have notified thefirst tender for this market with more to follow. We believe that our productrange remains the industry leader as evidenced by our increased market share ininternational business. Our distribution partners are performing strongly andare involved in record numbers of opportunities. We have strengthened theCompany by recruiting a number of quality professionals during the period andbelieve that the platform for future growth is in place." Contacts For further information please contact:Powerscourt (Financial PR advisors to Sepura) +44 (0)207 250 1446- Sarah Daly- Keith Brookbank This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange