Full Year Trading Update

RNS Number : 2280A

Inspecs Group PLC

01 February 2022

 

1 February 2022

Inspecs Group plc

("Inspecs" or "the Group")

Full Year Trading Update

Inspecs Group plc, a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear (sunglasses, optical frames and lenses) today announces a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2021 ahead of its final results in May 2022.

Highlights:

· Full year trading in line with Board expectations.

·   Completed acquisitions of Swedish eyewear company EGO Eyewear Ltd and German distributor BoDe Design.

· Successful purchase of intellectual property including trademarks of Hardy Amies worldwide.

· New state of the art lens manufacturing facility in Gloucester nearing completion and production started end of December 2021.

The Group's trading performance for the year despite Covid-19 restrictions was in line with management's expectations delivering Group revenue of $241.0m (2020: $47.4m). The integration of the Group's Eschenbach acquisition in December 2020 is progressing to plan and the business delivered positive trading in 2021. The Group will continue to realise further synergies from the acquisition into 2022.

During the period, the Group completed the strategic acquisitions of Swedish eyewear company EGO Eyewear Ltd, along with its subsidiaries, and of German distributor BoDe Design. Both acquisitions will enhance the Group's brand portfolio and broadens the distribution of products around the world.

Our main markets in Europe and America have proved to be resilient, and early indications show that, despite restrictions in many of the countries in which we operate, the optical market remains open and current trading is in line with expectations for 2022.

· In Asia, our factories maintained production throughout most of the year, despite both supply chain and Covid-19 restrictions.

· Our new facility in Vietnam is now fully operational, and work has started on the design and planning for our third facility in Vietnam on our additional land purchased in 2021.

· The Group continues to work on its wider environmental and sustainability targets. Botaniq, our new sustainable collection manufactured from bio-based materials, has had a successful launch in 2021 and will continue to grow in 2022.

· The Group has won a number of design and green awards, including four red dot awards and the industry Green Award in 2021.

Inspecs trading outlook for 2022 remains positive with growth prospects underpinned by recent acquisitions and multiple opportunities to continue to grow the business across the globe. The management team remains confident that this strategy will continue to deliver sustained growth in 2022 and over the long-term.

Robin Totterman, Chief Executive Officer commented:

"The results achieved in 2021 follow on from the hard work our employees put in over the last 12-months and the implementation of our continuing strategy to build a fully integrated global eyewear business. The Group now has over 35 licensed and owned brands available to our customers around the world, and the ability to provide a sustainable one-stop-shop frame and lens package continues to gain momentum.

I remain confident about the Group's ability to continue to grow organically and through acquisition in the long-term and to continue to deliver further positive results for our customers, shareholders and all stakeholders."

For further information please contact:

Inspecs Group plc Robin Totterman (CEO) Chris Kay (CFO)	via FTI Consulting Tel: [phone]
Peel Hunt (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Adrian Trimmings Andrew Clark Lalit Bose	Tel: [phone]
FTI Consulting (Financial PR) Alex Beagley Alice Newlyn Harriet Jackson	Tel: [phone]

About Inspecs Group plc

INSPECS is a Bath-based designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear frames and optically advanced spectacle lenses. The Group produces a broad range of frames and lenses, covering optical, sunglasses and safety, which are either "Branded" (either under licence or under the Group's own proprietary brands), or "OEM" (including private label on behalf of retail customers and un-branded).

INSPECS aims to be the leader in eyewear solutions through its vertically-integrated business model and has adopted a three pillar growth strategy to achieve this: (i) continue to grow organically; (ii) undertake further acquisitions (and drive value through leveraging the Group's internal capabilities); and (iii) extend the Group's manufacturing capacity.

The Group has completed a number of significant acquisitions since its IPO in February 2020. In December 2020, INSPECS acquired Eschenbach, a leading, global, eyewear supplier headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany, which includes the American company Tura. This followed the acquisition of lens maker Norville in July 2020, whereby INSPECS combined two heritage brands in British optical, Savile Row frame maker, and Norville lens maker, further enhancing its vertically integrated business model. In December 2021 the Group acquired Ego Eyewear, a design and licensing company which uses third party eyewear manufacturers to produce premium fashion brands, and BoDe, a distributor of optical and sunglasses frames principally to the German market.

INSPECS customers include global optical and non-optical retailers, global distributors and independent opticians, with its distribution network covering over 80 countries and reaching approximately 70,000 points of sale.

INSPECS has operations across the globe: with offices in the UK, Portugal, Scandinavia, the US and China (Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen), and manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, China, the UK and Italy. With the acquisition of Eschenbach, the Group's international reach further extends across Europe and the American markets.

More information is available at: https://inspecs.com 

 

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