AGM Statement

RNS Number : 1867G

Westminster Group PLC

27 June 2012

 



27^th June 2012

Westminster Group Plc:

AGM statement

Westminster Group Plc ('Westminster' or 'the Company'), the AIM listed supplier of system solutions and products to the security, defence, fire protection and safety markets worldwide, is pleased to announce that at the Annual General Meeting of the Company, to be held at 3pm today, the Chief Executive, Peter Fowler, will make the following statement:

"I am pleased to report that the strong momentum and trading we experienced during 2011 has continued into 2012.

We gave a trading update to the market in my report within the Annual report and Accounts issued on the 8th June 2012 and since that time we have continued to secure valuable business with important new clients including a $900,000 contract to supply sophisticated surveillance equipment to a Middle East government.

I am pleased to report that the West African airport contract secured earlier this year is now well underway, payments are being received and the first six weeks of operations are producing revenues which are in-line with our revenue forecasts.

Operationally we have made a significant difference to the security of the airport and have achieved a number of successes in discovering contraband and preventing potential criminal activity - this has been recognised by the government and various other bodies using the airport, including the UN. I am also pleased to announce that since our operations have commenced, and the airport security has improved, one new airline has already committed to commence operations and several other airlines have begun discussions on possible routes into the country. In addition, several existing airlines are now looking to increase the number of flights per week - this is all very encouraging as more flights means more passengers driving more revenue through the 'per passenger' fees.

We remain extremely active, we are maintaining record enquiry levels and we currently have sales teams travelling in a number of countries within the Middle East and Africa conducting discussions with potential clients.

Our strategy in recent years has been to build a global security group with a focus on the high growth markets of the Middle East, Asia and Africa.  The latter particularly offers significant business opportunities as the recent reports from the IMF and Barclays highlights; reporting that Africa could take 7 out of the top 10 places for economic growth in the next 5 years. It also estimates that 70% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves are on the African continent or offshore.

Westminster is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities having established a significant presence in the regions, we have over 100 agents in 46 countries;  utilising our agent network model is both extremely cost effective and makes us a scalable business.

We continue to develop our agent network and we announced to the market earlier this year the introduction of a franchise model and we appointed our first Franchisee in Nigeria in May 2012. In this respect I am very pleased to announce that Captain Hosa Wells Okunbo, the Chairman of Westminster Nigeria, our franchisee, has just been awarded the 2012 Africa Titans Award in Washington by the Congress of the United States - quite an honour.

 I am happy to report that discussions are underway for several other franchisee territories. We believe this to be a good business model for Westminster generating value from our brand with healthy annual franchise fees and, in addition, the Franchisee takes care of the financing and bonding requirements for projects whilst sourcing all products and solutions through Westminster.

We continue to build on our recurring revenue opportunities, such as IMS (our 24 hour Alarm receiving Centre), and maintenance services on larger projects as we deliver them as well as position the business into long term, high margin managed services, an example of which is our 15 year airport security contract.

In conclusion and as reported in our Annual Report - we have a solid order book, growing recurring revenues, improving gross margins, a robust business plan and vision. We have clear strategic goals and objectives and a commitment to the continuing development of our operational infrastructure. We are delivering on our vision and are now seen as a truly global security business. We have a strong management team and an experienced board of Directors. Accordingly we are confident of a solid performance for 2012 and exciting growth prospects beyond."

For further information please contact:

Westminster Group plc	Tel: [phone]
Peter Fowler (Chief Executive)
Ian Selby (Chief Financial Officer)
Fairfax I.S. PLC (NOMAD + Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Stuart Gledhill/Katy Birkin
Winningtons Financial (Financial PR)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Cooper/Paul Vann	0797 122 1972

Notes:

Westminster Group plc is a leader in the supply of system solutions and products to the security, defence, fire protection and safety markets worldwide.

Westminster's principal activity is the design, supply and ongoing support of advanced technology security solutions, risk assessments and close protection services. These can range from product only assignments, such as the supply of specialised scanners, to the design and implementation of an integrated system solution such as a border detection and surveillance system. The majority of its customer base, by value, comprises governments and government agencies, non governmental organisations and blue chip commercial organisations.

 

END

 

 

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