Trading Statement

26 May 2006 15:54

Slingsby(H.C.)Plc26 May 2006 HC Slingsby plc Trading Statement We are pleased to report that the final part of our business move, therefurbishment of the new offices, is virtually complete and by the end of Junethe business will once more be operating from a single site with considerablyimproved facilities. The move and the implementation of the new business system, have however, beendisruptive to the trading performance of the business and have increasedoverhead costs. These increased costs have been partly due to the businessoperating temporarily on two sites but also more significantly due to the chargefor depreciation of the new business system. In our preliminary announcement in April 2006 we stated that current orderlevels were marginally behind 2005. General market conditions have becomeincreasingly difficult in May and together with the disruptions to the businessnoted above, this has led to a 7% reduction in turnover for the year to datecompared with the corresponding period for 2005. In addition, margins have beensomewhat adversely affected. The board expects that the profit for the first sixmonths of the year will be significantly lower than the corresponding period in2005. The board however, remains confident that in the medium to long term the outlookfor the business is positive and we look forward to benefiting from our improvedoperating efficiencies in the future. For further information:Dominic Slingsby Managing Director 01274 721 591Ray Hudson Financial Director 01274 721 591 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange