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04 July 2011
TANFIELD GROUP PLC ("Tanfield" or the "Company")
Pre-Close Trading Update
The Tanfield Group Plc, a leading manufacturer of aerial work platforms, will shortly be entering its closed period for the half year ending 30 June 2011.
Trading for the first half was in line with the Board's expectations, with turnover increasing 24 per cent to £24.4 million, compared to £19.6 million in the same period last year. Net cash remained relatively stable at £4.7m (31 December 2010: £3.6 million). The order book continues to improve, with orders now standing at £20.9m, a 170% improvement since the last period (31 December 2010: £7.7m).
As indicated in the Company's preliminary results announced in April, on-going supply chain capacity constraints, allied to the requisite working capital demands, will be the key limiting factor to the speed of growth, as the entire global supply chain takes time to re-balance and re-build lost capacity to cope with the returning demand. The Board expects this scenario to continue throughout the second half of 2011.
Darren Kell, CEO of The Tanfield Group Plc, said: "We continue to work closely with all of our suppliers to remove bottlenecks, so we can further increase production, meet the recovering market demand globally in our products, and reduce our lead times. We expect the wider market will continue to improve in the second half of 2011, as the Company moves closer towards break-even. "
Further information:
Tanfield Group plc 0845 155 7755
Darren Kell / Charles Brooks
Arbuthnot Securities Limited (NOMAD and Broker) 020 7012 2000
James Steel / Ed Groome
Media Enquiries
Dan Jenkins 07536 092682
ENDS