AGM Statement

6 Dec 2006 07:01

White Young Green PLC06 December 2006 For Immediate Release 6 December 2006 WHITE YOUNG GREEN PLC AGM STATEMENT At the Annual General Meeting of White Young Green to be held later today,Chairman Peter Wood will make the following statement: "Trading in the current year has started well with an increased momentum in thevolume of new business secured, contributing to a £55m increase in net orderbook to a total of £330m. This is an uplift of 20% on the equivalent figure at30 November 2005, and underpins continuing strong organic growth across theGroup. Trading conditions continue to be very favourable in all key marketsectors and the acquisition pipeline remains encouraging. The acquisitions completed in the second half of the last financial year areintegrating well into WYG and are contributing strongly to profit delivery inthe current year, in line with expectations. The acquisition of Tweeds in March2006 has been particularly significant and has facilitated the introduction ofcost management services throughout Great Britain. All key clients have beenretained and new major projects secured. These include the £500m Granite Wharfscheme for London & Regional Properties which will link the Dome to Greenwichtown centre in south east London and will act as a catalyst for the £4 billionregeneration of the Greenwich peninsular. In addition, the acquisition of award winning engineering consultancy Adams KaraTaylor, announced in November 2006, significantly enhances the Group's positionin the strategically important London and overseas markets. Their reputationfor excellence in delivery and cutting edge engineering will complement the costmanagement skills of Tweeds and the project management skills of Trench Farrow,acquired in October 2006, to create a major new force in the capital at a timeof increased private sector confidence and investment. In the international arena the diversification of WYG International into moretraditional technically focussed markets continues to gather pace and in thefirst five months of the new financial year a number of major new projects havebeen secured. These include a water modernisation project in Algeria and thedevelopment of a regional transportation strategy for Poland. The operational and international experience of the Board will be furtherenhanced by the appointment of Robert Barr as an additional non-executivedirector with effect from 1 January 2007. Robert is currently Chief Executiveof Heywood Williams plc and was previously Chief Operating Officer of KingspanGroup plc. The Board is pleased with current trading, which remains in line with itsexpectations, and views future prospects with continued optimism and confidence." For further information, please contact: WHITE YOUNG GREEN PLC 0113 278 7111 John Purvis, Chief Executive Bob Hartley, Finance Director BUCHANAN COMMUNICATIONS 0207 466 5000 Tim Anderson / Lisa Baderoon / Rebecca Skye Dietrich This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange