Last checked at 6 Aug 2014 12:14
06 August 2014
Westminster Group Plc:
West Africa Ebola Update
Further to the announcement made on 30 July 2014, Westminster Group Plc ('Westminster' or the 'Group'), the AIM listed supplier of system solutions and products to the security, defence, fire protection and safety markets worldwide, wishes to comment on the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Westminster has not as yet seen any adverse impact on passenger traffic due to the Ebola outbreak and the first 5 days of August have seen passenger traffic numbers 30% up on the same period last year and an 8.9% year to date increase on the same period last year.
British Airways has announced that it has suspended flights to the affected regions until the end of August which may affect passenger numbers in the short term although this is likely to be limited should other carriers increase their flights, which is expected, to cater for the current demand. However the prudent steps taken by the Board in relation to the Placing announced earlier this week have mitigated the impact of any loss of revenue and any potential disruption to the Company's cash flows that may occur should the situation deteriorate.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is not currently recommending any travel restrictions to the region and the IATA statement on the Ebola outbreak dated 31 July 2014 may be found here http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2014-07-31-01.aspx.
The current expectation is that any disruption is likely to be short term [and some experts believe that the epidemic has already peaked in Guinea and will hopefully begin to decline across other countries in the near future].
Westminster continues to closely monitor the situation and will provide further updates as required.
For further information please contact:
Westminster Group plc. | Tel: 01295 756 300 |
Peter Fowler (Chief Executive) | |
Ian Selby (Chief Financial Officer) | |
S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (NOMAD and Broker) | Tel: 020 3463 2260 |
Stuart Gledhill/Katy Birkin | |
Winningtons Financial (Financial PR) | Tel: 020 3176 4722 |
Tom Cooper/Paul Vann | 0797 122 1972 |
Notes:
Westminster Group plc is a leader in the supply of system solutions and products to the security, defence, fire protection and safety markets worldwide.
Westminster's principal activity is the design, supply and ongoing support of advanced technology security solutions, encompassing a wide range of surveillance, detection, tracking and interception technologies and the provision of long term managed services contracts such as the management and running of complete security services and solutions in airports, ports and other such facilities together with the provision of manned services, consultancy and training services. The majority of its customer base, by value, comprises governments and government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGO's) and blue chip commercial organisations. For further information please visit www.wsg-corporate.com