Trading Statement

23 Jun 2006 07:30

Sanctuary Group PLC23 June 2006 23 June 2006: For immediate release THE SANCTUARY GROUPTrading update The Sanctuary Group, ('Sanctuary' or 'Group'), the international music group,today provides an update on trading. There has been a review of current trading and future prospects under newmanagement. Its key findings are trading in the Recorded Product division inthe current fiscal year to 30 September 2006 will be below previousexpectations, the disposal of various non-core assets is likely to take longerto complete than previously expected and further restructuring will berequired. As a result, the Board has now concluded that the Group is likely to deliver afull year EBITDA loss in the region of £17m to £22m. The majority of this losswill be made up of one-off exceptional items (including further restructuring costs). The performance of the Merchandising and Live Agency divisions remain within theBoard's expectations for the year. As previously stated, the Artist Managementdivision will be affected by artist activity being delayed until the second half of the current fiscal year or the first half of fiscal 2007. The Group's balance sheet remains strong following the refinancing. The Boardcontinues to review the cost base of the business to ensure that it is broughtinto line with the revenues being generated. Frank Presland, Chief Executive, said: "It is disappointing to have to bringthis news to the market. But, what I've seen having been Chief Executive forjust under a month, is a business that can prosper if it faces up to the newrealities. Management is currently in the process of agreeing budgets for fiscal2007 and the outcome will be communicated to market when this exercise has beencompleted. I am committed to focusing on driving the business forward to deliverappropriate levels of performance." Sanctuary will be announcing its interim results for six months to 31 March 2006in late July. -Ends- Enquiries: James Hogan / Craig Breheny / Ash Spiegelberg Brunswick +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 Note to Editors Sanctuary is a UK listed international music group, encompassing recordedproduct, merchandising, artist management and arranging and negotiating liveperformances. It has four main operating divisions: Recorded Product; ArtistManagement; Merchandising; and Live Agency. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange