POST-CLOSE STATEMENT

RNS Number : 8527G

Chemring Group PLC

25 November 2015

 



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                              25 NOVEMBER 2015

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE SAME WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

CHEMRING GROUP PLC

POST-CLOSE STATEMENT

Chemring Group PLC ("Chemring" or "the Group") today provides its scheduled post-close statement in respect of the year ended 31 October 2015.

FY15 trading

The Board's expectations for the Group's trading performance for the year to 31 October 2015 ("FY15") remain in line with guidance given in the trading update issued on 26 October 2015.

Revenue in the final quarter of FY15 was approximately £124 million, resulting in revenue for FY15 of approximately £377 million (2014: £403.1 million). 

No revenue or cash advance payment in respect of the 40mm ammunition contract to the Middle East, referred to in the 26 October 2015 trading update, was recognised in FY15.  The export approvals associated with this contract have now been granted and revenues are expected to commence once the cash advance payment has been received.

The Group's order book at 31 October 2015 was approximately £570 million (2014: £486.8 million).

Financial position

At 31 October 2015, net debt was approximately £154 million (2014: £135.6 million), just below the lower end of the range of £155-£165 million set out in the 26 October 2015 trading update.  

Purchase of Countermeasures assets

Agreement has been reached with Esterline Corporation to buy patents, equipment, stock and selected contracts relating to its UK-based subsidiary, Wallop Defence Systems, for an initial cash consideration of £2.5 million.  Conditional on the future receipt of specific orders, additional payments of up to £9.0 million may be made over the next three years.  The assets to be purchased relate to air countermeasures and pyrotechnic products that will be manufactured at Chemring's existing UK operations.

Completion of the transaction, which is subject to approval by the UK Ministry of Defence, and the UK Competition and Markets Authority, is expected to be in early 2016.

Capital structure

Positive discussions, in relation to the waiver of any event of default that may have arisen from the matters described in the 26 October 2015 trading update and amendments to the operation of covenants, are continuing with the banks providing the Group's revolving credit facility and the Group's loan note holders.

The Group is continuing preparations for the proposed rights issue of up to £90 million described in the 26 October 2015 trading update, which is anticipated to be launched in Q1 2016 alongside the Group's FY15 results.

-ENDS-

For further information:

Michael Flowers          Group Chief Executive, Chemring Group PLC             01794 833901

Steve Bowers               Group Finance Director, Chemring Group PLC           01794 833901

Rupert Pittman            Group Director of Corporate Affairs,                           01794 833901

Chemring Group PLC              

Andrew Jaques            MHP Communications                                                    020 3128 8100

John Olsen

James White

Notes to editors

·       Chemring is a global business that specialises in the manufacture of high technology products and services to the aerospace, defence and security markets

·       Employing approximately 3,000 people worldwide, and with production facilities in four countries, Chemring meets the needs of customers in more than fifty countries worldwide

·       Chemring is now organised under three strategic product segments:  Countermeasures, Sensors & Electronics, and Energetic Systems

·       Chemring has a diverse portfolio of products that deliver high reliability solutions to protect people, platforms, mission and information against  constantly changing threats

·       Operating in niche markets and with strong investment in research and development, Chemring has the agility to rapidly react to urgent customer needs

www.chemring.co.uk

Cautionary statements

This announcement contains unaudited information based on management accounts and forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as anticipate, target, expect, estimate, intend, plan, goal, believe, will, may, should, would, could, is confident, or other words of similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on any such statements because they speak only as at the date of this document and, by their very nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results, and Chemring's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

There are a number of factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are; increased competition, the loss of or damage to one or more key customer relationships, changes to customer ordering patterns, delays in obtaining customer approvals for engineering or price level changes, the failure of one or more key suppliers, the outcome of business or industry restructuring, the outcome of any litigation, changes in economic conditions, currency fluctuations, changes in interest and tax rates, changes in raw material or energy market prices, changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policies, developments in legal or public policy doctrines, technological developments, the failure to retain key management, or the key timing and success of future acquisition opportunities or major investment projects.

Chemring undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement contained within this announcement, regardless of whether those statements are affected as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save as required by law and regulations.

No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast for FY16 and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that underlying operating profit for the current or future financial years would necessarily be above a minimum level, or match or exceed the historical published underlying operating profit or set a minimum level of underlying operating profit.

Important notice

This announcement does not constitute or form part of, and should not be construed as, any offer, invitation or recommendation to purchase, sell or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction and neither the issue of the information nor anything contained herein shall form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with, or act as an inducement to enter into, any investment activity. This announcement and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer of securities in the United States. The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from, or a transaction not subject to, such registration requirements. The Group has not registered and does not intend to register the offering of any securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of any securities in the United States.

 

END

 

 

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