Trading Statement

19 Nov 2007 07:01

Clarke(T.) PLC19 November 2007 T.CLARKE - TRADING UPDATE T.CLARKE REPORTS POSITIVE TRADING AS IT STRENGTHENS BOARD T. Clarke plc, ("T. Clarke") the Electrical engineering and contracting Group,announces a trading update covering trading for the second half of 2007. Since announcing the interim results in August, trading in the Group's coreLondon business and its regional subsidiaries has been strong. The current orderbook has grown with £50 million of new project wins since August. T. Clarke hasalso been awarded preferred bidder status on several new important projects. Thework flow for 2008 is solid and over £150 million of the Group's current orderbook is scheduled for completion during 2008. The Group has also made good progress to improve the management of its regionalsubsidiaries. It has streamlined the reporting structure and has plans toinstall a new integrated IT system across the Group that is designedspecifically for the construction industry. The Board is confident that thelegacy issues that have affected trading in a small number of the regionalbusinesses have now been resolved. All the operating businesses are reportingthat trading conditions in their markets are buoyant and that the performancethey are delivering is at an encouraging margin. The Board is confident about the prospects for the Group. It is on track to meetcurrent market expectations for its financial performance for the full year,including the dividend that will be paid to shareholders. Board Changes - Appointment of Independent Director The Board is also today announcing the appointment of Bob Campbell as anindependent Non-Executive Director, with effect from 1 January 2008. Bob has afirst class knowledge of the construction sector. He was previously ManagingDirector of Waterman Group PLC, one of the UK's leading multidisciplinaryengineering and environmental consultancies. He served as Managing Director from1988 until stepping down from full time responsibilities in 2007. Under Bob'sstewardship, Waterman developed into an international business, integrated anumber of acquisitions and grew annual turnover from £11 million to over £100million. T. Clarke is planning to further strengthen the composition of theBoard and is seeking to appoint an additional independent director during thecourse of 2008. Pat Stanborough, Chief Executive commented, " We are pleased that the Group is making encouraging progress in both our coreLondon business and our regional subsidiaries. We have created a platform ofquality businesses with the capability to deliver large complex projects to anextremely high standard. We are working on a range of exciting projectsthroughout the UK, including some of the largest projects in the country. " We are delighted that Bob Campbell is joining the Board. He has an excellentknowledge of the construction sector having built up and run a very successfulquoted consultancy business. I am sure that we will benefit from his wisecounsel in the future. " At this stage, we are on target to meet the market expectations for the year.We are pleased that we have continued to grow the order book and we are lookingforward with confidence." The Company can advise that there are no further details which it is obliged todisclose under paragraph 9.6.13R of the FSA's Listing Rules. -ends- Date: 19 November 2007For further information contact: T. Clarke plc cityPROFILEPat Stanborough, Chief Executive Simon CourtenayVictoria French, Finance Director William AttwellTel: 020-7358-5000 Tel: 020-7448-3244Web: www.tclarke.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange