Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 2420S

Ricardo PLC

17 November 2011

 



Ricardo plc

17 November 2011

Interim Management Statement

Ricardo plc ('Ricardo' or 'the Company') - a market leading engineering and automotive consultancy, is today providing an Interim Management Statement in respect of the period 1 July to the date of this release.  Ricardo will announce its results for the six month period ending 31 December 2011 on 29 February 2012.

Order intake for the four months to the end of October was 16% higher than the same period last year. Notable orders in the period included transmission work from Japan, engine design for commercial vehicles from Germany, power generation work for India and passenger car work from a Malaysian client. The Asia market remains particularly active, UK and Germany solid, however the US market remains noticeably quiet in comparison.

Revenue was also up 8% on the same period last year. The order book at the end of October was strong at £111m compared to £101m this time last year and the pipeline continues to hold a good mix of work.

Our Technical Consulting business, which has benefitted from a strong mix of orders, continues to be very busy particularly in the UK.  However, the US division has had a more difficult start to the year with progress slowing, Germany continues to progress.

The market conditions remain challenging for Strategic Consulting as clients reduce  their discretionary spending. Investments we have made to take advantage of potential growth in the business have not yet yielded results as a consequence.

Our Performance Products business has now shipped over 500 supercar engines as volumes ramp up and delivery has commenced for the Foxhound/Ocelot vehicles.

We continue to carefully manage both costs and cash and maintain a strong balance sheet.

Dave Shemmans CEO commented:  "We are encouraged to see that revenue, order intake and order book are all tracking ahead of the same period last year. We see a mixed level of activity globally, with Asian markets buoyant and North America less so. We continue to see traditional clients returning as well as welcoming new clients from across the world from a wide range of sectors. We continue to be busy and our balance sheet remains strong. We remain confident of our progress for the full year."

Further enquiries:   

Ricardo plc
Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive	Tel:	01273 455611
Paula Bell, Group Finance Director
Website: www.ricardo.com
Kreab Gavin Anderson	Tel:	0207 074 1800
Fergus Wylie
Michael Turner

 

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