AGM Statement

RNS Number : 6767M

Lupus Capital PLC

28 May 2010

 



Lupus Capital plc

AGM Statement

Lupus Capital plc ("Lupus" or the "Company"), a leading international supplier of building products to the door and window industry and the world's number one manufacturer of marine breakaway couplings, issues the following statement ahead of its AGM to be held today at the offices of College Hill, The Registry, Royal Mint Court, London EC3N 4QN.

The Group has had an encouraging start to the financial year with sales in all geographies and sectors outperforming the significantly depressed prior year levels and with an improvement in margins.  Sales for the period ended 30 April 2010 were 12 per cent. ahead of the corresponding period in 2009.

Building Products

In the UK, sales in the period to end April have been encouraging.  Since the start of the year we have rebranded our UK Building Products businesses as "grouphomesafe" and reorganised our sales effort so that it is more integrated and customer focussed.  This initiative has been well received by both employees and customers.

In North America, the Amesbury Group has seen US dollar sales in the period to end April increase markedly, compared with the corresponding period in 2009, driven by a combination of customers rebuilding inventories and market share being gained. 

Our International Building Products business has seen local currency sales increase in the period to end April compared with the corresponding period in 2009, with encouraging increases in demand in Australasia and Germany, tempered by more muted demand for products in Southern Europe. 

Oil Services

Gall Thomson has seen a firm start to the year with sales and orders running ahead of the equivalent period in 2009.

Outlook

In Building Products, the seasonal nature of our businesses means that the first four months of the year offer little visibility of demand during our peak summer trading months.  We are however optimistic about the Group's prospects for the balance of the year in the North American and International markets.  The outlook for the UK market remains less clear. 

In Oil Services, we expect a continued solid performance from Gall Thomson.

We continue to see upward pricing pressure affecting our input costs for key raw materials, including steel, PvC and polypropylene, which are expected to rise during the balance of the year.  Where possible we will recover these cost increases without sacrificing market position.

The increased levels of demand have required the Group to make some investment in working capital in the first four months of the financial year, however we have continued to focus closely on working capital management and cash conversion and over the full year we expect the Group's net indebtedness to reduce.

Lupus Capital will issue its half year results for the period ending 30 June 2010 on Wednesday 8 September 2010.

Enquiries:

Lupus Capital plc	[phone]
Jamie Pike
Louis Eperjesi
James Brotherton
Collins Stewart Europe Limited	[phone]
Mark Dickenson / Tom Hulme
College Hill	[phone]
Mark Garraway / Adam Aljewicz

28 May 2010

 

END

 

 

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