Business
Year-end & Covid-19 Trading Update
Year-end & Covid-19 Trading Update.
About this update from Discoverie Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 9719M\n discoverIE Group plc\n 15 May 2020\n \n \n \n \n For Release\n \n \n 7.00am, 15 May 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n discoverIE Group plc\n \n \n Year-end & COVID-19 Trading Update\n \n \n \n \n \n discoverIE Group plc (LSE: DSCV, \"discoverIE\" or the \"Group\"), a leading international designer, manufacturer and supplier of customised electronics to industry, today issues a trading update for the year ending 31 March 2020. \n \n \n \n \n \n Further to the update of 19 March 2020, trading in China at the end of the final quarter was stronger than expected at the time, with a quicker recovery in the region following the reopening of our facilities there. Consequently, with trading elsewhere in the Group at the end of the year as anticipated, Group sales for the year increased by 8% CER(1) (up 6% reported) with organic(2) sales growth of 2%, driven by 5% organic growth in our D&M division. Accordingly, earnings for the year are expected to be slightly ahead of our revised expectations set in March. Orders remained ahead of sales driving an order book up 7% organically to £159m, a record year-end high.\n \n \n \n \n \n The Group has responded decisively to the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritising the safety of employees and trading partners, and preserving the Group's financial resources. \n \n \n \n \n \n Operational update\n \n \n \n \n \n The Group operates a diversified and flexible footprint with 27 manufacturing facilities across 17 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. After re-establishing operations in China, four facilities across Sri Lanka, India and the US were required by local government mandate to close for a period. All four have since re-opened with limited, but growing capacity. All other sites have remained open, several with essential supplier status and a number operating at reduced capacity during the disruption.\n \n \n \n \n \n With the Group's decentralised \n structure\n ,\n we have been able\n to quickly adapt to the evolving circumstances and adopt new ways of working, with each of our businesses implementing an operating plan developed to suit its local market and welfare requirements. Over 650 employees are working from home and across all our locations there has been an overriding priority to establish safe working pra...