Business
Year end trading update
Year end trading update.
About this update from Xaar Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Xaar PLC\n10 January 2008\n\n\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10 January 2008\n\n Xaar plc\n\n FULL YEAR TRADING UPDATE\n\nXaar plc ('Xaar'), the inkjet printing technology group headquartered in \nCambridge, presents an update on performance for the year to 31 December 2007.\n\nTrading\n\nRevenue for the year is expected to be approximately £47.9m, an increase of 13% \nover the prior year. Growth in the company's existing Platform 1 products was \nsolid whilst interest in the latest Platform 3 product, the Xaar1001, continues \nto grow.\n\nProfit before tax for the year was approximately £7.3m (31 December 2006: £6.9m)\nwhich was in line with the IFRS compliant market consensus figure.\n\nProfit for the year is stated after charging amortisation of capitalised R&D of \n£1.0m (31 December 2006: £0.5m), the cost of share options of £0.9m (31 December\n2006: £0.7m) and the fixed cost of the new Huntingdon facility which was within \nexpectations at £2.5m (31 December 2006: £nil). Before the cost of the \nHuntingdon operation, profit before tax for the year increased by 42% over the \nprior year.\n\nAs previously noted, take-up of Platform 2 products remains slower than \noriginally expected but the company was pleased to see the recent launch of the \nTeckstorm and Teckthunder wide format printers from Teckwin Development Co. Ltd.\nbased on the Xaar 760; other wide format printers incorporating the Xaar 760 are\nexpected to be launched in the coming months.\n\nThere are now a significant number of evaluation kits for the Platform 3, Xaar \n1001, on test with existing and potential customers and several equipment \nlaunches incorporating the printhead are expected in 2008. Drupa, the industry's\npremier printing trade exhibition held every four years in Germany, will take \nplace in May 2008; equipment launches are often timed to coincide with the show.\n\nImportantly, these equipment launches are expected to be in new markets for Xaar\nas the company presses home its technology advantage by leading the move of \ninkjet printing into mainstream commercial printing applications. One machine \nwhich has already been announced is the 'Caslon' narrow web label press from \nNilpeter, the world's leading manufacturer of this type of press. A second \nnarrow web label press from a large US printing technology group is due to be \na...