AGM Statement

RNS Number : 0838O

Oxford Instruments PLC

13 September 2011

 



13^th September 2011

Oxford Instruments plc

Chairman's AGM Statement 2011

Oxford Instruments plc, the high technology tools and systems company, is holding its Annual General Meeting today at which the Chairman, Nigel Keen, will make the following statement:

In June this year, we reported on our progress over a five year period that delivered significant growth and margin improvement.  We achieved an average organic growth rate of over 12% per annum and improved our net margins from around 3% to over 10%.  We also outlined the next strategic plan for the Group, our 14 cubed strategy.  The plan seeks to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 14% and a return on sales of 14% by 2014.  It is anticipated that this target will be achieved predominantly through organic growth and continuing internal efficiency improvements.  It will also be supported by targeted, bolt on acquisitions.  We announced the first two of these acquisitions, Omicron NanoTechnology GmbH and Omniprobe, Inc. on the 14^th June this year.  These businesses fit well with our Nanotechnology Tools sector and integration is proceeding to plan.

Our research markets continue to benefit from strong demand as customers use Oxford Instruments' equipment to develop new techniques and products in areas such as Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), which are used in a growing number of applications including motion sensors for electronic devices and airbags.

Our industrial markets are also robust, particularly in Asia.  Customers use Oxford Instruments equipment to implement high technology manufacturing strategies in areas such as next generation photovoltaic devices, and to show compliance to environmental standards.  This sustained strengthening of demand, coupled with the volume shipments of superconducting wire on the ITER programme, means that our industrial sector businesses are showing better performance than in the prior year.

The Service division continues to perform well across all our aftermarket revenue streams with our customers showing an increased willingness to take on multi-year service contracts for our high technology equipment.

We are seeing strength in all our business sectors and notwithstanding uncertainty in global economies, we believe the diversity of our activities, combined with our strong pipeline of new products, will continue to provide growth opportunities for the Group.  Accordingly, the Board anticipates that Oxford Instruments will continue to make good progress in line with its expectations for the financial year.

Enquiries:

Oxford Instruments plc                                                   Tel: [phone]

Jonathan Flint, Chief Executive

Kevin Boyd, Group Finance Director

MHP Communications                                                   Tel: [phone]

Rachel Hirst / Ian Payne

Notes to Editors

Oxford Instruments designs, supplies and supports high-technology tools and systems with a focus on research and industrial applications. It provides solutions needed to advance fundamental physics research and its transfer into commercial nanotechnology applications. Innovation has been the driving force behind Oxford Instruments' growth and success for over 50 years, and its strategy is to effect the successful commercialisation of these ideas by bringing them to market in a timely and customer-focused fashion.

The first technology business to be spun out from Oxford University over fifty years ago, Oxford Instruments is now a global company with over 1800 staff worldwide and has recently entered the FTSE250 index of the London Stock Exchange (OXIG). Its objective is to be the leading provider of new generation tools and systems for the research and industrial sectors.

This involves the combination of core technologies in areas such as low temperature and high magnetic field environments, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, X-ray and optical based metrology, and advanced growth, deposition and etching.Our products, expertise, and ideas address global issues such as energy, environment and health.  

 

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