Tanfield Regulatory News (TAN)

23 Jul 2007 12:15

Tanfield Group PLC23 July 2007 23 July 2007 THE TANFIELD GROUP PLC ('Tanfield' or 'the Group') TRADING UPDATE Tanfield, the leading manufacturer of zero emission electric vehicles and aerialwork platforms, is pleased to provide the following update on trading inadvance of its interim results for the six months ending 30 June 2007. Highlights •Trading for the first six months of 2007 has been strong and in line with management's expectations •Smith Electric Vehicles has received orders for its new technology zero emission electric vehicles from Balfour Beatty, TK Maxx/DHL, Axa and Translink •Electric Vehicle order book full for 2007 and until early 2008 •Vehicle production capacity increasing from five to 10 units per week in 2007 •Official European launch of electric vehicles scheduled for Q3 2007 in Rotterdam with TNT Express •New UpRight distributors appointed in Baltic States, Austria, Malta and Saudi Arabia. Negotiations initiated with additional strong potential distributors in, South Africa and Middle East •Volume orders for UpRight machines received from customers in USA, UK, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States •Cash position ahead of management's expectations Commenting, Darren Kell, Chief Executive of The Tanfield Group Plc, said: "Our strategy to develop new technology electric vehicles targeted at majorfleet operators continues to gain significant momentum. We are developing UpRight into a major force in the aerial work platformindustry, thanks to its unique customer offering of local language, expertafter-sales support through its extensive global dealer network. The acquisition of Snorkel International will significantly accelerateTanfield's development as a global leader in aerial work platform manufacture,by broadening the product offering, offering bi-directional cross-sellingopportunities, and bringing significant manufacturing capabilities in both theUSA and Asia-Pacific region, allied to global distribution capability. Our present production capacity continues to increase on schedule, withcontrolled expansion in line with the order book growth. We have developed andnurtured excellent relationships with our supply chain and do not anticipate anysupply constraint issues as we increase machine and vehicle output. Trading for the first six months of 2007 has been strong and in line withmanagement's expectations and we are confident of further strong growth boththis year and beyond. The cash position at the end of June 2007 was ahead of ourforecasts and we remain comfortable with market expectations for the year." Smith Electric Vehicles The Company continues to make good progress in its core retail and distributionmarkets and the Directors are delighted to announce that Tanfield has won ordersfor its zero emission electric delivery vehicles from major retailers includinghigh street fashion retailer TK Maxx, via its logistics provider, DHL Logistics.This is the third Smith Newton electric truck trial vehicle ordered by DHL toseed its customers' fleets. Tanfield is also pleased to announce its first order from a major UK commercialvehicle rental company, Translink. Translink has ordered two Smith Edison higherfunction electric vans, for trials within its rental fleet of over 3,000commercial vehicles. Other major fleet operators who have placed orders includeconstruction, engineering and utilities company Balfour Beatty and insurance andasset management group Axa. Balfour Beatty operates over 7,000 vehiclesworldwide. Tanfield has also received orders from several other major fleet operators, buthas signed non-disclosure agreements at the request of these clients. As aresult of this strong demand, the Company's vehicle production schedule is fulluntil early 2008. The Directors believe that, while urban delivery fleets servicing internet homeshopping and post/parcel distribution remain a key market for zero emissionvehicles, there are significant addressable markets in sectors such asutilities, construction, Highways and other urban distribution/collectionapplications. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has built and delivered thefirst Smith Edison for the Royal Mail, as part of the order for trial vehiclesannounced on 28 June 2007. The second part of this order, a 7.5 tonne SmithNewton electric vehicle, is in build and will be delivered to the Royal Mailshortly. The launch of Smith's higher function electric vehicles in mainland Europe isscheduled for autumn 2007, when the first left-hand drive versions of the Edisonand Newton will be delivered to TNT in the Netherlands. Ongoing negotiationswith major fleet operators in the USA are progressing well. UpRight Powered Access UpRight continues to demonstrate strong global sales growth, through itsestablished independent dealer network and also by winning fleet orders fromindependent equipment rental companies. Volume orders for UpRight machines have been received from customers in the USA,UK, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Enquiries from independent companies wishing to become UpRight dealers are at anall-time high and UpRight has appointed new distributors in Central Europe, theMiddle East and Africa. The process of further expanding the distributor networkand strengthening existing dealers, in line with the extended product range fromSnorkel, has been considerably improved by the addition of an experiencedinternational distributor manager. Vigo Centre, the Group's 250,000sq ft assembly facility in the UK, is achievingits current output target of 150 UpRight machines per week and has furtherheadroom for increased capacity. In conclusion, the Board of Directors believes that the outlook for the Group asa whole remains good, with further growth expected in both core divisions. SmithElectric Vehicles continues to exploit its global first mover status in zeroemission commercial vehicles, while UpRight Powered Access leverages significantbrand equity and its unique distributor network to grow sales. The Directors expect that the acquisition of Snorkel International will greatlyaccelerate Tanfield's development as a major global powered access manufacturer,by broadening the product portfolio and providing significant machine productioncapabilities in North America and the Asia-Pacific region. For further information: The Tanfield Group Plc Tel: +44(0)845 1557 755Darren Kell, Chief Executive dan.jenkins@tanfieldgroup.comCharles Brooks, Finance Director Fishburn Hedges Tel: +44(0)20 7839 4321Morgan Bone Mob: +44(0) 7767 622 967James Benjamin Mob: +44(0) 7747 113 930 tanfield@fishburn-hedges.co.uk St. Helen's Capital plc Tel: +44(0)20 7628 5582Ruari McGirr Cenkos Securities plc Tel: +44(0)20 7397 8900Stephen Keys website: www.tanfieldgroup.co.uk Notes to editors The Tanfield Group Plc is the world's leading developer and manufacturer ofroad-going commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms. Tanfield isheadquartered in Newcastle with operations in the USA and Japan. It has two maindivisions: Smith Electric Vehicles, was founded in 1920 and acquired by Tanfield in October2004. Since its acquisition, Smith is developing into a world leader in newtechnology electric vans and trucks with greatly enhanced performance, speed andrange capabilities. This makes them attractive for all fleet operators in largetowns, cities and closed industrial environments. For the first time, thesefleet operators have an economically viable, zero emission alternative to usingdiesel vans and trucks. Smith has an unrivalled UK-wide service and supportnetwork, which already maintains over 5,000 vehicles for major fleet operators.This core element of the business is beginning to fulfil its potential in termsof addressing the requirements of large urban fleet operators, who want toreduce their operational costs and more importantly, greatly reduce their carbonfootprint. Smith's airport offering is complemented by two specialist airportvehicle sub-divisions; Jumbotugs and Norquip. www.smithelectricvehicles.com UpRight Powered Access, is firmly established as the UK's biggest manufacturerof self-propelled aerial work platforms (such as "cherry-pickers", "scissorlifts", "trailer mounts", etc) and UpRight is globally one of the industry'sstrongest aerial lift brands in what is a $7bn market. UpRight has assemblyfacilities in the UK and USA, plus a wholly-owned subsidiary in Japan. Productsare sold through a strong global network of over 150 independent, full-servicedistributors across Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.Tanfield has been successful in extending the UpRight product range andachieving significant increases in average weekly order intake, boosted in partby working at height regulations. www.upright.com - ENDS - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange