Trading Update & Second Round PPP Loan Forgiveness

RNS Number : 1569S

600 Group PLC

12 November 2021

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Group to constitute inside information. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

12 November 2021

The 600 Group PLC

Trading Update and Second Round PPP Loan Forgiveness

The 600 Group PLC (the "Group"), the diversified industrial engineering company (AIM: SIXH), announces that its three USA operations have all been granted forgiveness of their second round loans under the USA Government Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") which in total amounts to $2.2 million. The Company also provides an update in relation to current trading and orderbook levels.

The now forgiven second round PPP loan amounts are expected to be included in other income in the Group's Consolidated Income Statement for the year ending 31 March 2022. Unaudited Group net debt (excluding IFRS16 leases) following the forgiveness of the second round PPP loans is currently $14 million.

Current Trading

Trading in the current year continues in line with the Board's expectations and order intake has continued to improve during the current financial year. The forward orderbook currently stands at $23m as at 9 November 2021, a significant increase when compared to the same date one year earlier (9 November 2021: $11m) and above pre-pandemic levels.

Paul Dupee commented:

"The now forgiven PPP loans helped the Group's US operating businesses maintain employment and skills throughout the pandemic at a level which has enabled the Group to react immediately to the significant increase in activity we are experiencing. With a healthy orderbook and a strong pipeline of opportunities across the business the Board continues to believe in the long-term fundamentals of the Group."

Enquiries:

The 600 Group PLC Paul Dupee, Executive Chairman Neil Carrick, Company Secretary	Tel: [phone]
Instinctif Partners Tim McCall	Tel: [phone]
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Ben Jeynes / Max Gould (Corporate Finance) Alex Pollen / Henry Nicol (Sales)	Tel: [phone]

About The 600 Group PLC

The 600 Group PLC is a distributor, designer and manufacturer of industrial products with three principle areas of activities:

Machine Tools

The business has a strong reputation in the market for metal turning machines. Products range from small conventional machines for education markets, CNC workshop machines and CNC production machines. Selected outsourcing partners support the manufacturing of these machines and they are marketed through the Group's wholly owned international sales organisation and a global distribution network.

Precision Engineered Components

Machine spares are distributed to customers globally to help maintain the installed base of group machines which number in excess of 100,000. Additionally, work holding products are sold via specialist distributors to OEMs, including other machine builders.

Industrial Laser Systems

Industrial laser systems cover laser marking and processing including cutting, drilling, ablation and a host of other niche applications in the marking and micro machining sectors. They require no consumables and can operate on a continuous high speed basis and can be integrated into customers' production lines. The businesses have their own technology and proprietary software. Customer applications are diverse and range from aerospace to medical and pharmaceuticals. The requirement for increased product and component traceability is one of the market drivers.

More information on the Group can be viewed at:  www.600group.com    

 

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