Torotrak PLC Regulatory News (TRK)

19 Jul 2007 07:01

Torotrak PLC19 July 2007 19 July 2007 Annual General Meeting and First Quarter Management Statement for the three months ended 30 June 2007 Torotrak is today publishing its first interim management statement as requiredby the FSA's disclosure and transparency rules. This statement, which includes amore general update on the Company's progress, will also be delivered atTorotrak Plc's Annual General Meeting which takes place today. Placing and Open Offer We have today, through a separate announcement, confirmed our plans for the firmplacing of new shares with Institutional investors and an open offer to ourexisting shareholders. Subject to approval at a forthcoming EGM, this willprovide, net of issue expenses, £5.0m from the placing and a further £1.75mshould the open offer be fully subscribed. The placing signifies a growing confidence in Torotrak's future and an appetiteto invest in the acceleration of our business plan. 1st Quarter Update In the first quarter to 30 June 2007, we have secured two new pieces of businessin two new market sectors for Torotrak. Off Highway - Fork Lift Truck sector: As announced on 27 June 2007, we have commenced a prototype programme in the fork lift truck ("FLT") sector which should deliver approximately £450 k in revenue over the next 18 months. This programme is to complete a full prototype installation of our transmission technology into a class 4/5 fork truck of a major global manufacturer. The engineering programme is valuable income, but more importantly it represents a commitment to the commercialisation of our transmission in a new sector and is the start of a wider relationship with the manufacturer with the potential for future production volumes. Torotrak's transmission technology will provide, at a competitive price, a variable drive with smooth shuttling ability and good low speed control. New potential market - Motorsport: The second piece of new business is in motorsport, which is a new potential market for us. Xtrac Ltd, the vehicle transmission design and manufacturing company, has entered into a licence agreement with us to enable them to develop highly efficient and compact continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) for use in the new kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) proposed for Formula One ("F1") motor racing. F1 has announced its intention to introduce new rules for 2009 that will lower the environmental impact of the sport. Part of this is to recover deceleration energy that can be stored for acceleration. Xtrac will exploit Torotrak's full-toroidal traction drive technology for use in kinetic energy recovery systems within the motorsport industry, to assist its customers in meeting these new obligations. Torotrak is currently in the process of negotiating licence agreements withcustomers in two of the Company's principal markets, one of which was announcedon 15 May 2007 in relation to a Memorandum of Understanding with a major Asiancar and commercial vehicle manufacturer. Both negotiations offer goodopportunities for licence fees later in the financial year. The Group has a strong forward order book for engineering services, strengthenedby the confirmation of the FLT prototype programme announced on 27 June 2007.The timing of programmes in the current financial year is expected to generate arevenue build up weighted more towards the second half of the year, reversingthe pattern experienced in the year ending 31 March 2007. A full update on current trading is included in a separate announcement whichwill be made today in connection with the Placing and Open Offer. Dick Elsy, Chief Executive of Torotrak, commented: "We are very pleased with thedevelopment of the business over the last year and we have some excitingopportunities in the pipeline. The additional funding that we are proposingshould ensure that Torotrak is able to fully exploit these opportunities." For further information: Dick Elsy, Chief Executive Simon Hudson Jeremy Deering, Finance Director Lulu Bridges Torotrak Plc Tavistock Communications Tel: +44 1772 900938 Tel: +44 20 7920 3150 Information in the announcement is based on unaudited management accounts. Inaddition, certain statements made are forward looking statements. Suchstatements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number ofrisks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differmaterially from any expected future events or results referred to in theseforward looking statements." This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange