St Ives plc - Trading Update
In the Interim Statement released in April, we said that most of the Group's
markets continued to experience over-capacity and fierce price competition.
This has particularly been the case in the direct mail market and in longer-run
magazine and commercial markets on both sides of the Atlantic especially for
more commoditised products.
Since that time there has been no sign of improvement in any of our markets.
Recently, demand for direct mail and commercial web offset products, for which
visibility is always limited, has weakened further and as a result our
businesses supplying these markets in the UK and USA are now performing below
earlier expectations. We have maintained our share of the market for company
annual reports, but low levels of activity and pricing in the market for
corporate financial print continue.
The performance of the other parts of our business overall is in line with
expectations, although everywhere we face rising energy costs. Our book and
point-of-sale businesses continue to do well. In April we launched St Ives
Group Sales, a new facility enabling customers to access all the Group's
capabilities through a single portal, fully supported by on-line systems for
the management of workflow, pre-press, artwork creation and archiving, order
processing and inventory control. The early results are encouraging and we have
won substantial new business, much of it on term agreements, which will not
come through until the next financial year.
As a result of these factors taken together, we now expect the Group's profit
before taxation for the year ending 28 July 2006 (on a "normalised basis"
before restructuring costs and provision releases) to be approximately
15 per cent lower than the market currently expects.
A credit in respect of restructuring costs and provision releases of £1.0 to £
1.5 million will be recognised in respect of profit on disposal of surplus
assets and the release of provisions no longer required on previous business
consolidations. The credit is net of further restructuring costs, the benefits
of which will accrue in the new financial year.
The Group has a robust balance sheet and continues to generate strong cashflow.
Net debt at the year end is likely to be lower than previously expected at
around £25 million. Capital expenditure for the current year will be around £
40 million. As previously indicated future capital expenditure is expected to
revert to more normal levels.
Press enquiries:
St Ives plc 020 7928 8844
Miles Emley Chairman
Brian Edwards Managing Director
Ray Morley Finance Director
14 June 2006
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