Interim Management Statement

6 Feb 2008 07:00

Carclo plc06 February 2008 Immediate Release 6.2.08 Carclo plc ("the Group") Interim Management Statement The board is pleased to confirm that Group profitability continues to run inline with its expectations for the year. Margins in Technical Plastics are improving following the reorganisation of theSlough facility in the first half of the year. Development of our medicaldiagnostics and LED optics businesses remains our primary focus in TechnicalPlastics. As this sector continues to see good growth, we will re-balancecapacity by reducing our involvement in lower margin automotive moulding. The Precision Products division delivered an excellent performance in the firsthalf year and has continued to perform well into the second half of the yearbenefitting from new LED lighting contracts for supercars. In December wecompleted the acquisition of Ultra, the specialist distributor of LED basedautomotive lighting, for an initial cash consideration of £1.1 million. Thisbusiness compliments perfectly our existing specialist lighting business andintegration is proceeding well. Investment in the new technologies has continued into the second half of thefinancial year. On 30 September 2007 we acquired 100% control of Conductive Inkjet Technology ("CIT").We have taken the opportunity presented by full control to consolidate the development operations of CIT in Cambridge. The MetalJet 5000 facility (previously installed at Carclo's Slough facility) is being relocated to Cambridge and the MetalJet 6000 high speed line (originally planned for our US partner's facility in Kansas) will also now be commissioned in Cambridge. These moves will concentrate all CIT's technical resources and enhance its revenue potential. We hope to commence production of an RFID enabled sensor on the MetalJet 6000 early in the new financial year. Progress on the CIT applications in Photovoltaics has been very encouraging. Thenew 'etch' ink has produced excellent results and we are engaged with twopartners in the PV industry to exploit this new technology. We have also seengood progress in the 'fine-line' technology for OLED flat panel displays. We arenow actively discussing programmes which would lead to a relatively earlycommercial application of this technology. Overall, the Group continues to make good progress as indicated in the half yearstatement issued on 27 November 2007. - Ends - Enquiries: Carclo plc 01924 268040Ian Williamson, Chief ExecutiveRobert Brooksbank, Finance Director Weber Shandwick Financial 020 7067 0700Richard Hews/James White Notes to Editors About Carclo (LSE: CAR) • Carclo plc is a global supplier of technical plastic components. It is a public company whose shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange. • 75% of sales are derived from the supply of fine tolerance, injection moulded plastic components, which are used in medical, automotive, telecom and electronics products. This business, Carclo Technical Plastics, operates internationally in a fast growing and dynamic market underpinned by rapid technological development. • 25% of sales are derived from the supply of manufactured systems to the automotive and aerospace industries. • Carclo's strategy is to grow rapidly in low cost manufacturing regions and to develop new technologies and products to underpin future growth. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange