Re Placing of Shares

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11 March 2004 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND CHEMRING GROUP PLC PLACING TO RAISE UP TO £5.9 MILLION The Board of Chemring Group PLC ('Chemring' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that it has made arrangements to place up to 1,371,780 new ordinary shares of nominal value of 5p each ('the Placing Shares') at a price of 430 pence per share ('the Placing'). The Placing Shares, which represent approximately 4.99% of the existing issued share capital, are being placed with institutional investors by Investec. The proceeds to be raised from the Placing amount to a maximum of approximately £5.9 million (before expenses). Chemring's UK and US countermeasures businesses have seen further expansion this year, with unaudited sales of £22.2 million in the first four months of the current financial year, up 37% compared with the same period last year. As announced recently, orders in excess of $30 million (£16 million) have been received by Alloy Surfaces Company, Inc. (one of Chemring's US subsidiaries) for delivery over the next two years. These unbudgeted orders include a $25 million contract to supply the US Department of Defense with special material infra-red decoys, which is the largest single contract ever placed with Alloy Surfaces. The order book for Chemring's countermeasures businesses now stands at £84 million, up 10% since the year end. The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to fund the capital investment and increase in working capital requirements arising from the expansion of Chemring's countermeasures businesses, and to reduce borrowing. In particular, the Company expects to invest $3-4 million in additional production capacity at Alloy Surfaces. As reported in the Company's financial statements for the year ended 31 October 2003, Chemring's insurance brokers have been continuing negotiations with Royal and Sun Alliance ('RSA') with regard to its insurance claim. Whilst the quantum of Chemring's claim has the full support of its brokers and retained insurance consultants, RSA has yet to significantly change its negotiating position and settlement is not considered to be imminent. Chemring, through its brokers, will continue to pursue resolution of the claim. However, if an acceptable negotiated settlement is not reached in the near future, the litigation will proceed to Court in Tennessee. Application will be made to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to the London Stock Exchange for the admission of the Placing Shares to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities ('Admission'). It is expected that Admission will take place on 16 March 2004. The Placing Shares will be issued and credited as fully paid and will, on Admission, rank pari passu with the existing ordinary share capital of Chemring, including the right to receive the final dividend of 4.85p per ordinary share in respect of the financial year ended 31 October 2003. For further information: Chemring Group PLC David Evans, Chief Executive Paul Rayner, Finance Director 01489 881880 Investec Investment Banking Keith Anderson 020 7597 5970 CardewChancery Jonathan Rooper 0207 930 0777 Editors' notes: Chemring designs and manufactures a range of countermeasures, military pyrotechnics and marine safety products. For its last full year ended 31 October 2003, the Company reported profits before tax of £12.1 million (2002: £ 5.4 million) on turnover of £120.5 million (2002: £96.3 million). The market capitalisation of the Company on 10 March 2004 was £123 million. These written materials are not for distribution in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of Ireland. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the US Securities Act or an exemption therefrom. Chemring has not and does not intend to register any of its securities under US securities law. Accordingly, the Placing Shares may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they are registered or exempt from registration under applicable law or in transactions that are exempt from registration. The Placing Shares will not be offered or sold to the public in the United States. Investec is acting for Chemring in connection with the Placing and no one else, and will not be responsible to anyone other than Chemring for providing the protections offered to clients of Investec nor for providing advice in relation to the Placing.
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