Victrex Regulatory News (VCT)

10 Feb 2009 07:00



Tuesday 10 February 2009

Victrex plc

AGM and Interim Management Statement 

At the Annual General Meeting of Victrex plc to be held today, Chairman Anita Frew will make the following statement which comprises Victrex's Interim Management Statement covering the period from 1 October 2008 to date:

Trading Update

"In our previous trading update on 1 December 2008 we announced that November sales volume was 118 tonnes, compared to 218 tonnes in October, as our customers reduced orders in response to the deteriorating global economic climate. Since then, volumes have remained steady, with signs of an improvement in January. Sales in December, at 115 tonnes, were similar to November levels, despite year end customer shutdowns. January sales increased to 124 tonnes in spite of a slow start to the month as year end shutdowns were extended at a number of our customers.

Invibio®, our biomaterials business, continued to make good progress, with revenues for the four months to the end of January running at higher levels than the average run rate we achieved in 2008 (annual sales revenue - £24.9m).

The Group remains in a strong financial position with a healthy balance sheet and good cash generation. 

There have been no significant changes in the financial position of the Company since 30 September 2008.

Strategic Reorganisation and Board Change

We are also announcing a strategic reorganisation whereby Victrex's business will be split into two divisions; Victrex PEEK and Invibio. This will reflect the distinctive features of the two businesses and allow the two divisions to be more individually focused to meet their specific objectives and maximise shareholder returns. 

Each division will be led by a divisional Managing Director reporting directly to the Victrex plc Board, and each will have an executive management board comprising the relevant senior global management. 

Michael Callahan, currently Managing Director, Invibio Limited will be the Managing Director of the Invibio division and David Hummel, Chief Executive, Victrex plc will, along with his current duties, manage the Victrex PEEK division in the short term to oversee the reorganisation before a permanent divisional Managing Director is appointed. 

Under the new divisional business structure the role of Commercial Director will no longer exist at Group level. Accordingly Blair Souder will step down as Commercial Director of Victrex plc and leave the Group on 31 March 2009 following a transitional period.

Blair has made an invaluable contribution to the Company and the Board in over six years of service to Victrex as Commercial Director. He has guided us through a period of significant growth and development. He has our very best wishes for the future and we are very pleased that he will be staying on to assist through the transitional period." 

The Company's trading update for the six months to 31 March 2009 will be issued on Tuesday 7 April 2009.

Enquiries

Victrex plc

Anita Frew, Chairman  0207 357 9477 (10 February 2009)

David Hummel, Chief Executive 01253 897 700 (thereafter)

Mike Peacock, Finance Director

Hogarth Partnership Limited

Nick Denton / Barnaby Fry 0207 357 9477

Victrex plc is an innovative world leader in high performance materials through the manufacture of VICTREX® PEEK™ polymer, a high performance, easy to process thermoplastic.

VICTREX PEEK has a unique combination of chemical, wear, electrical, hydrolysis and temperature resistance, as well as excellent dimensional, mechanical and chemical stability combined with inherent purity and low flammability

End users specify VICTREX PEEK to reduce systems costs, improve part performance, exploit greater design freedom and create a differentiated application. VICTREX PEEK is used across a broad range of applications in diverse markets including transport, industrial, electronics and medical. Invibio®, Victrex's biomaterials business, provides specialised solutions for medical device manufacturers.