AGM Statement

Alumasc Group PLC 20 October 2000 THE ALUMASC GROUP PLC AGM Statement At today's Annual General Meeting of Alumasc, the premium engineering and building products group, John McCall, Chairman and Chief Executive, made the following comments: 'As previously reported, the last financial year ended strongly providing encouragement for further progress in the current year. However, reference was also made to the negative but unquantifiable short term effect of the changes taking place at Rover, one of our major customers. In addition, recent developments in the UK brewing sector and a slower start in our Building Products Division lead the Board to anticipate significantly lower profits in the first half of this financial year compared with last year, for which interim pre-tax profits of £5.1 million were reported. The main features of trading are: * Precision Components The loss of business with the Rover Group while the Longbridge assembly plant has been closed for restructuring has had a severe impact, including the closure of an Alumasc satellite manufacturing operation, and will disproportionately influence first half trading. The Division's plan to replace this work with new work for new customers, such as components for use in electronics and telecommunications applications, has been successful and the Board expects to return the business to its underlying growth trend in the second half year. The prospects for growing Alumasc Precision Components from its present base remain very positive. * Industrial Products The Group's activities with the UK brewing industry have been severely curtailed in the period following the acquisition of the brewing interests of Bass and Whitbread by Interbrew S.A. and the uncertainties associated with the subsequent reference to the OFT. The extent to which this results in a temporary or permanent cutback is uncertain at this time. The normal seasonality of this business makes the impact biased towards the first half of Alumasc's financial year. * Building Products The high level of building activity during the early summer months has declined nationally in the most recent quarter, with public projects in particular slipping against their schedules. The Board sees this weakness in the market as a normal fluctuation within the building cycle and not an indicator of prospects for the rest of the financial year. Given improving export expectations from the low level of recent years and the rising level of Alumasc product specifications in recent months, the Division's performance is expected to recover to previous levels in the second half year. Although trading in the Group's Industrial Products Division is expected to remain challenging, the prospects for the Precision Components and Building Products Divisions remain positive, and present indications are for a strong performance in the second half of the financial year as the Group builds on the new business initiatives and the benefits of previous rationalisation. Since the Preliminary Announcement in September, Alumasc has purchased for cancellation a total of 230,000 shares (0.6%), and the Board intends to continue to pursue its active policy on share buy-backs.' Enquiries: The Alumasc Group plc 01536 383844 John McCall (Chairman and Chief Executive) Bankside Consultants Limited 020 7220 7477 Charles Ponsonby
UK 100

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