Filtronic PLC Year-End Trading Update (4509R)
June 30 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMFTC
RNS Number : 4509R
Filtronic PLC
30 June 2020
30 June 2020
Filtronic plc
(the "Company" or the "Group")
TRADING UPDATE
Filtronic plc (AIM: FTC), the designer and manufacturer of
products for the critical communications, wireless telecoms and
defence & aerospace markets, is pleased to provide the
following trading update for the financial year ended 31 May 2020
("FY2020").
Antenna Business Sale
As previously reported, the Telecoms Antenna Operation was sold
during December 2019 and the sale completed in January 2020. All
transitional arrangements agreed with the buyer have now been
satisfactorily completed. Consequently, the numbers presented below
represent only the continuing operations of the Group.
Financial Highlights
Trading during the second half of the year was broadly in line
with market guidance despite some Covid-19 related disruption in
the final quarter. The Board therefore expects, subject to audit,
to report FY2020 revenue of approximately GBP17.2m (FY2019:
GBP15.9m), representing growth of 8%, adjusted operating profit of
approximately GBP0.4m (FY2019: GBP0.2m) and adjusted earnings
before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortisation and
exceptional items ("EBITDA") of GBP1.2m (FY2019: GBP0.7m ). Cash at
bank at 30 May 2020 was GBP2.0m (30 Nov 2019: GBP0.1m). Net cash
(net of all lease obligations except right of use property leases)
at 31 May 2020 was GBP0.7m (30 Nov 2019: net debt of GBP2.2m).
Operational Highlights
A strong order book entering the second half of the financial
year sustained the business during the Covid-19 crisis. In February
2020 the Company established a Covid Business Continuity Team with
the purpose of providing and sustaining a fully compliant and safe
working environment whilst maintaining full operational capacity to
fulfil customer commitments. The Company is pleased to report that
it maintained a 24/7 manufacturing capability throughout the period
whilst all employees who could work from home were enabled to do
so. The extensive measures taken to ensure staff safety, naturally
came at a cost for adjustments to operational layouts and
processes, operational efficiency and additional headcount.
However, most importantly, the Company experienced zero confirmed
Covid-19 related staff sickness whilst the average employee
attendance rate during the last quarter of the period was over 98%.
The support of our entire staff must be recorded as having been
exemplary and we are grateful to all of them for their resilience
and hard work during a difficult time for everybody.
We continued to receive orders from existing clients during the
period but constraints imposed by Covid-19 slowed the rate of new
business acquisition and development activities. As year-end
approached, we were advised of a short-term delay to two key client
delivery schedules. We responded to this by implementing a furlough
programme for a number of manufacturing staff from early June and
expect to recall these employees progressively during July and
August. We did not however suffer any order cancellations or
deterioration in commercial terms.
Our new self-calibrating Tower Top Amplifier product for the US
Public Safety Communications market was launched as planned and has
been adopted by our lead client, from whom we expect the first
orders in early FY2021. Our new 5G X-Haul Transceiver product
(Morpheus, replacing Orpheus) was also qualified by and launched to
our lead X-Haul client during the period and we anticipate the
first production units to ship in late summer 2020.
Outlook
There is considerable uncertainty in both the macroeconomic
environment and the markets in which we operate. As the focus of
concern regarding the impact of Covid-19 progressively shifts from
public health to the economy, that uncertainty will increase.
Whilst we have entered FY2021 with a good order book, it would be
imprudent to be anything other than cautious on the outlook for the
year ahead and consequently, in common with many of our peers, we
will not be providing guidance for the expected performance of the
business at this time.
We expect to release our Preliminary Results on 4 August.
Enquiries:
Filtronic plc Tel. 0113 220 0000 or investor.relations@filtronic.com
Reg Gott (Executive Chairman)
Michael Tyerman (Chief Financial
Officer)
finnCap Limited Tel. 020 7220 0500
Jonny Franklin-Adams / Hannah Boros (Corporate Finance)
Alice Lane / Sunila de Silva
(ECM)
Walbrook PR Limited Tel. 020 7933 8780 / 07768 807631
or filtronic@walbrookpr.com
Paul Vann
Notes:
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.
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END
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