AGM Statement

RNS Number : 1131B

RWS Holdings PLC

14 February 2011

 



RWS GROUP

For immediate release                                                                                             14 February 2011

RWS Holdings plc

AGM Statement

RWS Holdings plc ("RWS", "the Company"), Europe's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations and searches) and technical translations, is today holding its Annual General Meeting at which Andrew Brode, Executive Chairman, will make the following remarks:

The financial year ended 30 September 2010 saw the seventh successive year of growth in Group sales, underlying profits and dividends since flotation. 

Since then, the Group's trading performance for the first four months of the current financial year ending 30 September 2011 has been encouraging and in line with management's expectations for this point in the year.  As anticipated, we are seeing the benefits of the clients won in 2010 in our patent translations business as well as a continuation of the improvement in our technical translations and intellectual property support services markets.

As already reported, in July we completed the purchase of the freehold of a new headquarters building located in Chalfont St Peter, South Buckinghamshire, approximately 20 miles from Central London.  We successfully moved into the new premises over the Christmas and New Year period, thus minimising disruption to the Group's operations.  As a result, four separate office locations are now amalgamated, providing both rental savings and opportunities to significantly improve operational efficiency. 

Summary & Outlook

We have fully hedged our anticipated Euro and dollar trading exposure at attractive rates for the current financial year, we have a strong financial position and we are well placed to grow our share of the patent translation market and to take advantage of the improvement in the technical translations and intellectual property services markets.

Whilst the global economic recovery remains fragile, we expect that the realisation of the full year benefit of clients won in 2010, combined with improved efficiencies from our move into a new, integrated office, will further underpin progress in 2011.

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For further information contact:

RWS Holdings plc

Andrew Brode, Executive Chairman                                                                               01753 480200

MHP

Katie Hunt/Simon Hockridge                                                                                        020 3128 8100

Numis

Stuart Skinner (Nominated Adviser)                                                                              020 7260 1000

James Serjeant (Corporate Broker)

About RWS:

RWS is Europe's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations and technical searches) to the medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, aerospace, defence, automotive, electronics and telecoms industries.  RWS also provides specialist technical, legal and financial translation services for areas of industry outside the patent arena.  RWS is based in the UK, with offices in Europe, New York, Tokyo and Beijing, and is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

Approximately 1,000,000 patent documents are published per annum, 200,000 of which are published in Europe (Source; European Patent Office) and the intellectual property market has shown significant growth in recent years, with patent applications in Europe having doubled over the last ten years.

For further information please visit: www.rws.com

 

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