Trading Statement

RNS Number : 8285T

Judges Scientific PLC

23 July 2015

 

Judges Scientific plc ('Judges Scientific', the 'Company' or the 'Group')

Trading Update

The Directors of Judges Scientific, the parent company of a group specialising in the design, manufacture and sale of scientific instruments, are pleased to update shareholders and the market with regard to the Group's trading performance during the first half of the current financial year.

The Group's results for the six-month period to 30 June 2015 will include the post-acquisition contribution from Armfield Limited which was acquired on 22 January 2015. In addition to reflecting the influence of order activity during the period the results will, to an extent, also reflect such activity during 2014, when three weak quarters were followed by a year-end recovery.

Order intake during the six-month period excluding Armfield ("Organic") was 9.5% above that recorded during the first half of 2014 with most of our businesses showing gratifying progress; total order intake (including Armfield) was consistent with the level required to meet our sales budget for the year without consuming our order book. The second quarter showed a solid improvement compared to the first quarter which had been weak. The organic order book at 30 June 2015 represented 11.7 weeks of sales, compared to 9.9 weeks at the beginning of the period and 7.8 weeks as at 30 June 2014. Armfield has experienced solid order intake since the acquisition and its inclusion lifts the total interim order book for the Group to 13.7 weeks.

The Group's order book acts as a store of future revenue and profitability, impacting earnings positively or negatively as the order book is reduced or rebuilt. Your Board estimates that a movement of one week in the Organic order book equates to approximately 6.5p in earnings per share in respect of the period. As a result of the 1.8 weeks build-up of the order book in the first half of 2015, Organic Group revenue was below the revenue recorded in the corresponding period of 2014 which had experienced a 3.1 week reduction in Organic order book. Notwithstanding a positive contribution from Armfield, your Board expects interim earnings per share to be below last year's level, with a stronger second half weighting based on the interim order book that has built up during the period. As a result, the Board remains confident in the Group's ability to achieve current market expectations for the full year.

For further information please contact:

Judges Scientific plc

David Cicurel, CEO

Brad Ormsby, Finance Director

Tel: [phone]

Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser & Broker)

Pascal Keane

Edward Mansfield

Tel: [phone]

Cardew Group (Financial Public Relations)

Melvyn Marckus

Tel: [phone] or 07775 896 491

 

END

 

 

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