Trading Update

RNS Number : 4909K

Acal PLC

17 April 2015

 

For Release

7.00am, 17 April 2015

Acal plc

Full Year Trading Update

Acal plc (LSE: ACL, "Acal", the "Company" or the "Group"), a leading international supplier of customised electronics to industry, is today issuing its trading update for the year ended 31 March 2015, ahead of the announcement of its full year results on 2 June 2015.

Since the interim management statement on 9 February 2015, trading has continued as anticipated and accordingly, results for the year are expected to be in line with management expectations, despite foreign exchange translation headwinds of c.8% year-on-year ⁽¹⁾.

Group sales for the year increased by 28% on a reported basis and by 36% at constant exchange rates⁽¹⁾ ("CER") with second half Group sales up by 45% CER. On a like-for-like basis excluding acquisitions⁽²⁾, Group sales for the year increased by 3% comprising sales growth in Custom Distribution of 2% and 9% sales growth in Design & Manufacturing.

Noratel, acquired in July 2014, is performing well, with sales for the second half increasing by 7% on its equivalent pre-acquisition period. Foss, acquired in January 2015, is integrating quickly into the Group, with sales since acquisition being in line with our targets.

Nick Jefferies, Group Chief Executive commented:

"The year finished well, with a combination of organic growth and positive contributions from our recently acquired businesses.

The acquisitions made during the year, Noratel and Foss, are settling in well and performing as expected, with cross-selling programmes underway.

With results for the year expected to be in line with our expectations and showing strong growth in underlying earnings per share despite foreign exchange translation headwinds, we remain focused on delivering further organic growth and value enhancing acquisitions."

For further information please contact:

Acal plc                                                                                                    01483 544 500

Nick Jefferies                         - Group Chief Executive

Simon Gibbins                        - Group Finance Director

Instinctif                                                                                                   020 7457 2020

Mark Garraway

Helen Tarbet

Notes  

1.     Unless stated otherwise, growth rates refer to the comparable prior year period. The average sterling rate of exchange has strengthened 7% against the Euro for the year ended 31 March 2015 compared to the last year (rising from €1.186 to €1.275)  and strengthened 8% against the NOK since the acquisition of Noratel (rising from NOK 10.0 on acquisition to NOK 10.79) negatively affecting reported sales and earnings for this period by around 8%. The closing £/€ exchange rate on 31 March 2015 was 1.375 which is a further 8% higher than the average rate for FY15, while the closing £/NOK rate was 11.97 which is a further 11% higher than the average rate for FY15.

2.     Like-for-like growth for the Group is calculated at constant exchange rates ("CER") excluding this year's acquisitions of Noratel and Foss (acquired 17 July 2014 and 7 January 2015 respectively) and excluding YEG and RSG which were acquired during last year.

3.     All growth rates are calculated using provisional, unaudited FY15 data which is subject to change.

Notes to Editors:

About Acal plc

Acal is a leading supplier of customised electronics to industry. It designs, manufactures and distributes customer-specific electronic products and solutions to 20,000 industrial manufacturers and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ACL).

Acal has two divisions: Custom Distribution and Design & Manufacturing. The majority of its sales comes from products and solutions which are either created uniquely for a customer or sourced exclusively. Acal works across a range of technologies, namely Communications & Sensors, Electromechanical, Imaging & Photonics, Microsystems & Displays, and Power & Magnetics.

Acal operates through the following wholly-owned businesses:  Acal BFi, Foss, Hectronic, MTC, Myrra, Noratel, RSG, Stortech and Vertec. It has operating companies and manufacturing facilities in a number of markets, including the UK, Germany, France, the Nordic region, Benelux, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Spain, as well as in Asia (China, India, Sri Lanka and South Korea), the US and South Africa.

 

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