Volex Regulatory News (VLX)

31 July 2018

Volex plc

AGM and Trading Update

Volex plc ("Volex"), one of the world's largest manufacturers of premium power cord and harness assemblies, is today holding its Annual General Meeting during which the Chairman will make the following statement on trading for the three months ended June 2018:

"I am pleased to report that trading for the first quarter has been ahead of our expectations. Profitability has improved in the first quarter of FY2019 versus the prior year, as we enjoyed higher revenues and lower operating expenses as a result of continued cost reduction initiatives.

Our revenue has increased across all of our major geographies in the first quarter. We are seeing growth from both our established customers and building on our successes in winning new customers. We continue to diversify and reduce the concentration risk in our revenue stream, and have seen revenue growth, on a like for like organic basis, in excess of 7 per cent in the first quarter of FY2019.

The cost pressure that we were experiencing in the second half of last year has lessened, with the price of copper reducing and the dollar strengthening against our main functional currencies.

We continue to assess the ramifications of a possible trade war between the US and China. We have yet to see an adverse affect on our business, or that of our major customers, but continue to monitor this situation closely. One of Volex's strengths is our global footprint as well as the ability to manufacture and deliver a variety of products from our "hybrid" facilities.

We have made good progress in integrating the two recent acquisitions, MC Electronics and Silcotec Europe. The culture of both companies fits well with our own culture and we expect to see growth from both operations in FY2019.

We continue to review and optimise our footprint in order to position Volex for the future. In the first quarter we have taken steps to reduce capacity in our Shenzhen power cord factory and began the process to reduce our presence in India. Both these actions will result in exceptional charges, which will be recovered within the financial year through on-going cost savings and supply chain optimization initiatives. I am therefore confident in Volex's ability to continue to make revenue progress and deliver further value to our shareholders over the coming year.

Finally, I would like to thank our employees across the globe for their dedication, commitment and hard work, as we improve our competitiveness and profitability. Volex has a strong balance sheet and is starting to grow once again, and I look forward to the coming year with confidence."

For further information please contact:

Volex plc​​​​​​​

Nat Rothschild, Executive Chairman +65 6788 7833

Daren Morris, Group Chief Financial Officer +44 7909 995887

Liberum, Nominated Adviser & Broker +44 203 100 2000

Steve Pearce & Euan Brown

Market abuse regulation

This announcement is released by Volex plc and contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. For the purposes of MAR and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055, this announcement is being made on behalf of the Company by Daren Morris, CFO.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements which are based on Volex's expectations, intentions and projections regarding its future operating performance and objectives, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are sometimes, but not always, identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', 'goal' or 'estimates'. By their very nature forward-looking statements are inherently unpredictable, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, by way of example only and not limited to, general economic conditions, currency fluctuations, competitive factors, the loss of one of our major customers, failure of one or more major suppliers and changes in raw materials or labour costs among other risks. Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements and, except as required by applicable law, Volex undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.