Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 0212Q

Hunting PLC

01 November 2012

 



For Immediate Release

1 November 2012

Hunting PLC

("Hunting" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Interim Management Statement

&

Analyst Site Visit

Hunting PLC (LSE: HTG), the international energy services group today issues its Interim Management Statement for the period 1 July 2012 to date.

Dennis Proctor, Hunting's Chief Executive said,

"Hunting's businesses continue to perform well, with strong global demand for premium connections, accessories, OCTG, MWD/LWD components and manufacturing services. An increase in competition within the short perforating gun market has persisted during the third quarter which has reduced demand for Hunting Titan products in this size range. Further, efforts to comply with new offshore standards continue to hamper our subsea product deliveries despite having an increased sales backlog. However, the Board remains confident of trading in line with its expectations for the 2012 full year results."

Well Construction

Hunting's premium connections businesses continue to be driven by strong global demand and the increased drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The Advanced Manufacturing Group continues to report good order intake for its electronic and precision engineered products and has traded ahead of management's expectations during the period. MWD/LWD components also continue to trade strongly.

The Drilling Tools business has seen a marginal decline in trading as the industry moves activity toward the shale liquids regions across North America. 

Well Completion

Hunting Titan has seen an increase in competition for its short size perforating gun systems in recent months, primarily from a year-on-year 9% decline in the US rig count as well as operators moving from gas to liquids drilling targets.  The business continues to progress its expansion plans, with new distribution centres planned for North America, Europe, the Middle and Far East.  The investment at the Group's facility in Wuxi, China is continuing, with manufacturing of perforating guns planned to commence in Q1 2013.

Hunting's US Manufacturing business continues to report strong activity levels as momentum in the Gulf of Mexico builds.  The unit is now utilising its new facility in Houma, Louisiana, which adds 98,000 square feet to the Group's manufacturing footprint.

Well Intervention

At Hunting's Stafford facility, the expansion project to double the size of its manufacturing capacity has been completed.  Hunting Welltonic is expanding geographically into North America where demand for its Thru-Tubing products lines has been identified.

Financial Position

Overall the Company has a strong balance sheet, with no significant change to the financial position of the Group since the publication of the half year results in August 2012.

Capital expenditure is forecast to be about £70m in the current year. The reduction to previous guidance is primarily due to slippage of expenditure into 2013.

The Group's net debt position as at 31 October 2012 was approximately £210m.

Analyst Site Visit

Hunting will be hosting an analyst visit to a number of its US facilities on 5-7 November 2012.  During the visit no new financial information will be disclosed.

For further information please visit www.huntingplc.com or contact:

Hunting PLC Dennis Proctor, Chief Executive Peter Rose, Finance Director	Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Buchanan Richard Darby Jeremy Garcia	Tel: [phone]

OCTG - Oil Country Tubular Goods

MWD/LWD - Measurement-while-drilling/Logging-while-drilling

Notes to Editors:

About Hunting PLC

Hunting PLC is an international energy services provider to the world's leading upstream oil and gas companies. Established in 1874, it is a fully listed public company traded on the London Stock Exchange. The Company maintains a corporate office in Houston and is headquartered in London. As well as the United Kingdom, the Company has principal operations in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

 

END

 

 

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