Trading Statement

RNS Number : 8444V

Senior PLC

21 April 2016

 

Trading Update

Ahead of its Annual General Meeting on Friday 22 April, Senior plc ("Senior" or "the Group"), an international manufacturer of high technology components and systems, principally for the worldwide aerospace, defence, land vehicle and energy markets, issues this trading update for the period since 1 January 2016 (the "Period").

Markets & Divisions

The Group's activity in the Aerospace Division increased as anticipated, resulting from additional content on new aircraft, including the first 5 deliveries of A320neo and ramp up of A350 aircraft by Airbus.  Additionally, Boeing successfully completed the first flight of the 737 MAX in January.

In the Flexonics Division, as expected, activity continued to reflect the challenging market conditions in truck and off-highway and industrial markets.  Accordingly, the Division is continuing to focus on cost management and efficiency initiatives.

Net debt increased to £217.2m at the end of March 2016.  This was due to the normal seasonal increase in working capital, continued planned investment in capital expenditure in support of organic growth, and adverse currency impacts.

Outlook

Consistent with the position set out in the announcement of 29 February 2016, revenue in the Aerospace Division is expected to grow in 2016 with a stronger profit in the second half, driven by increasing revenues and operational improvements which are underway across the Division.  The challenging market conditions in some of the Flexonics end markets mean that the outlook for Flexonics remains uncertain.  At current exchange rates, the Board's expectation for 2016 adjusted profit before tax⁽¹⁾ remains unchanged.

Looking further ahead, the Group remains well positioned for the future as new Aerospace and Flexonics programmes and products enter production and as Senior increasingly benefits from its strong customer relationships and global footprint.  Staying focused on customer alignment, operational excellence and investing in organisational capability and leadership talent will enable Senior to continue to grow organically over the longer-term.  Furthermore, Senior's cash-generative nature and robust financial position provide a solid platform from which the Group can continue to pursue growth opportunities to complement its existing portfolio.

The results for the six-month period to 30 June 2016 will be announced on Monday 1 August 2016.

Conference Call

There will be a call for investors and analysts at 8.30am GMT today.  The dial-in details are as follows:

International access number:	[phone]
UK toll free number:	0808 109 0700
Password:	Senior

Notes

⁽¹⁾ Adjusted profit before tax is before loss/profit on sale of fixed assets, acquisition related costs and amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisitions.

Further information

Derek Harding	Group Finance Director, Senior plc	[phone]
Bindi Foyle	Head of Investor Relations & Leadership Development, Senior plc	[phone]
Philip Walters	Finsbury	[phone]

About Senior

Senior is an international manufacturing group with operations in 14 countries.  It is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (symbol SNR).  Senior designs, manufactures and markets high technology components and systems for the principal original equipment producers in the worldwide aerospace, defence, land vehicle and energy markets.  Further information on Senior plc may be found at: www.seniorplc.com

Cautionary Statement

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements.  Such statements are made by the Directors in good faith, based on the information available to them at the time of the announcement, and they should be treated with caution due to the inherent uncertainties underlying any such forward-looking information.

 

END

 

 

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