SIXH.L Regulatory News (SIXH)

24 Mar 2006 07:01

600 Group PLC24 March 2006 24 March 2006 THE 600 GROUP PLC NEW CONTRACTS AND TRADING UPDATE The 600 Group PLC is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a majorcontract by Airbus UK for the supply of four Mitsui Seiki machining centres anda Fastems materials handling system. The value of the contract is approximately£4.4m. Delivery is anticipated in the second half of the next financial yearwhen the majority of the profit for the contract will also be recorded. In addition, The 600 Group PLC has been awarded a contract by the World Bank forthe supply of machine tools to Sudan. Originally anticipated for delivery thisfinancial year, the value of this contract is approximately £1m and will now bedelivered predominantly during the first half of the next financial year. We are continuing to make progress on the supply of lathes from China and haveseen significant improvements in quality. Volumes are gradually improving butare not yet at the level required to fulfil our order book for this productrange. Our Electrox laser marking business has made impressive progress and nearly 50%of sales within the last two months have come from products launched within thelast six months. However, certain major contracts, which we had anticipatedwould be finalised during this financial year, will not now be completed untilthe first half of next year. As a result of these supply constraints and contract delays, we now anticipatethat the overall underlying Group profit, including the effect of the pensioninterest, will be close to break-even for the current financial year ending 31March 2006. The balance sheet remains healthy and net cash at the year-end willbe at least as high as at the half-year at approximately £4m. A strategic review currently being undertaken has identified the need to writedown certain items at the year-end relating principally to goodwill andinventory. The value of these exceptional write-downs will be approximately £2mand predominantly non-cash. We are encouraged by the level of our overall order intake and in particular bythe award of these new contracts and remain optimistic about the outlook for theGroup. The Group will be publishing its preliminary results on 22 June 2006. Enquiries: The 600 Group PLCAndrew Dick, Group Chief ExecutiveJohn Fussey, Group Finance Director Telephone: 0113 2776100 Hudson SandlerNick Lyon Telephone: 020 7796 4133 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange