KBC Advanced Technologies plc AGM Statement (7710I)

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RNS Number : 7710I

KBC Advanced Technologies plc

04 June 2014

Embargoed until 0700 hrs

4 June 2014

KBC Advanced Technologies plc

("KBC" or "the Group")

AGM Statement

At KBC's AGM to be held at 3.00 pm today Ian Godden, Chairman, will make the following statement.

"KBC has started well in 2014 and is experiencing good growth prospects in most regions. Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, Russia and Asia continue to underpin our success and North America is providing growth opportunities again after three years of relative stagnation in downstream oil and gas.

We have recently signed a four year, $5.2m software licence renewal for Petro--SIM(TM) with one of our major Latin American customers, which further strengthens our relationship with them and reaffirms the value that our technology solutions are able to deliver to our clients.

The successful reorganisation and reconstruction started in 2012 is almost behind us with overheads reduced and the margins in consulting progressing well towards our targets for this year and 2015. We are looking to strengthen our team to reinforce our success in the growth regions and the modernization of our business support systems will require further effort and investment in the medium term.

We have strengthened our Board with the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director, Paul McCloskey, who provides a wealth of experience in upstream oil and gas, and the appointments of executives Andrew Howell, Managing Director of Technology, and Kevin Smith, Managing Partner of Consulting. A highly experienced interim CFO, Andrew Hebb, has been hired until a new long term CFO is found to support the next five years of substantial growth.

Subject to approval on 9 June 2014, we will have raised GBP24m of new equity to fund the growth, especially in software and upstream consulting. It is particularly encouraging that a number of major new investors have supported this placing. The new monies are largely earmarked for acquisitions of IP rich software companies and will also provide working capital to enable the company to target a greater number of large consulting contracts, a key part of KBC's medium term strategy.

The growth in our markets, together with a healthy pipeline at the start of the year, gives us confidence in meeting management's expectations for the current year and the new investor funding will provide a platform for longer term growth prospects."

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 For further information, please contact: 
 
 KBC Advanced Technologies plc 
 Ian Godden, Chairman                    +44 (0)1932 236314 
 Andrew Hebb, Interim Chief Financial 
  Officer                                +44 (0)1932 236314 
 
 Cenkos Securities plc 
                                         +44 (0)20 7397 
 Bobbie Hilliam/Harry Pardoe              8900 
 
 Weber Shandwick Financial 
                                         +44 (0)20 7067 
 Nick Oborne/Stephanie Badjonat           0000

Notes to Editors:

KBC is a leading consultancy and software provider to the global hydrocarbon processing industry. With over 30 years of experience, KBC combines industry leading technology with experienced engineers and operations personnel using robust methodologies to create personalised, sustainable solutions for its clients. For more information, visit www.kbcat.com

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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