Preliminary Announcement
Alumasc (ALU.L), the UK-based supplier of premium building and precision engineering products, announces a year of significant progress for the Group in terms of both strategic development and financial performance, with an improved quality of earnings.
Financial Highlights:
• Revenue from continuing operations increased by 21% to £125.8m, of which 17% was attributable to the full year benefit of the acquisition of Levolux on 1 May 2007 and of Blackdown on 31 March 2008
• Underlying† operating profit from continuing operations improved by £3.7m, or 49%, to £11.2m, with operating margins increasing from 7.3% to 8.9%
• Underlying† pre-tax profit from continuing operations increased by 52% to £9.6m. Underlying† earnings per share from continuing operations increased by 51% to 18.3p
• Reported pre-tax profit increased by 12% to £10.0m. Reported earnings per share increased by 15% to 20.3p. The 2007 profit included an exceptional contribution from Brock Metal, which was sold on 29 June 2007
• Full year dividends per share are raised by 3.1% to 10.0p
• Net debt at 30 June 2008 reduced by 28% to £9.4m
† underlying excludes property disposal gains and non-recurring restructuring and other costs
Commercial Highlights:
• Two-thirds of group revenue and over 85% of group operating profit is now generated by the Building Products division. Well over half of Building Products’ divisional revenue is derived from sustainable building products
• Building Products revenue increased by 40% to £83.5m (of which 11% was organic growth), whilst underlying operating profit improved by 54% to £10.7m (of which 17% was organic growth)
• Revenue from sustainable energy management products almost trebled to £35.5m and related operating profit more than quadrupled to £4.8m. Levolux, the UK leader in solar shading systems, had an excellent first full year in the group, whilst Blackdown, the green roof supplier, made a good start at Alumasc and contributed immediately to group earnings
• Revenue from sustainable water management products increased by 5% to £33.7m. Operating profit increased by 6%, at a slightly improved operating margin of 14.8%
• Only 7% of group revenues are exposed to the new house building market – mainly the Timloc brand
• Engineering Products’ divisional underlying operating profit remained stable at £1.7m despite revenues that were 3.7% lower at £42.3m
• Profit reduced at Alumasc Precision Components, but Dyson Diecastings had another good year and Alumasc Dispense’s profits doubled
• The cumulative over-statement of profit and assets at Alumasc Precision Components, announced in the Interim Management Statement of 19 May, has been assessed at £2.5m, slightly below the most recent previous estimate, and the investigation is now complete. Robust and swift action has been taken to strengthen management and controls. The business remains profitable and opportunities for further profit improvement have been identified
John McCall, Chairman, stated: ” Alumasc performed strongly in 2008, demonstrating the benefits of realigning its business during the previous year towards markets with stronger prospects for growth.The year to June 2008 ended on a strong note for Alumasc, reflecting growing demand for the group’s products and their resilience in the face of some negative external factors such as rising material and energy costs.
Whilst it would be unrealistic to expect the industries served by Alumasc to be unaffected by the general economic situation, the group has purposefully positioned itself to benefit from areas where demand is expected to grow. As we enter the new financial year with a strong balance sheet and order books higher than a year ago, we remain confident in the group’s ability to perform well.