Trading update

RNS Number : 2763U

Sarantel Group PLC

13 October 2010

 



13 October 2010

Sarantel Group PLC

Trading update for the year ended 30 September 2010

Sarantel (AIM: SLG; 'Sarantel' or the 'Group'), the leading manufacturer of revolutionary filtering antennas for mobile and wireless devices, announces a trading update for the year ended 30 September 2010.

Revenues for the year to 30 September 2010 are expected to be broadly in line with market expectations despite challenging trading conditions in the company's core consumer GPS market, component shortages from a key supplier and a delay in the production of an important new product for the military GPS market. Gross margins are expected to be slightly higher than in 2009.

Sarantel has made significant progress with the development of its sales and distribution network, which has helped the Group add more than 400 new customers during the year. The addition of a number of new GPS customers and recovery in demand from existing GPS customers drove an increase in GPS unit volumes.

Sarantel continues to make good progress in military and other high-value markets, receiving customer funding to develop a number of ruggedized GPS and satellite communication antennas that are now being sold as part of a growing portfolio of high value products.

As announced separately today, the Group has now signed a contract with Elcoteq SE to outsource its assembly, test and supply chain processes, significantly reducing its overheads. At 30 September 2010, the Group had cash balances of £0.6 million.

The Board remains confident of Sarantel's potential, particularly now that location-based services and applications are becoming important features on products such as smartphones. Although it remains difficult to predict timing and size of volume contracts, interest from potential customers is stronger than ever and Sarantel's Board believe that such applications will drive the need for the greater accuracy offered by its antennas, when compared with legacy antenna technologies.

Enquiries

Sarantel Group PLC	01933 670 560
David Wither, Chief Executive Officer
Seymour Pierce (Nominated Adviser and Broker)	020 7107 8000
John Cowie/ Freddy Crossley
Paul Jewell (Corporate Broking)
College Hill	020 7457 2020
Carl Franklin/Adrian Duffield

About Sarantel www.sarantel.com

Sarantel is a leader in the design of high-performance miniature antennas for portable wireless applications. Sarantel's revolutionary ceramic filtering antennas offer dramatically improved performance over existing antenna designs, resulting in a clearer signal, better range and a 90 per cent reduction in the amount of signal radiation absorbed by the body. Because of their smaller size and higher capabilities, Sarantel's antennas enable manufacturers to create innovative wireless products for the GPS, WiMax, Satellite Radio and Satellite phone markets.

 

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