Petards Group PLC
25 March 2008
25 March 2008
Petards Group plc ('Petards' or 'the Company')
Pre-close period strategic review and trading update
Petards, the AIM quoted developer of advanced surveillance systems, provides the
following update in respect of the year ended 31 December 2007, current trading
and progress in its strategic review prior to entering into the close period in
respect of the Company's preliminary results for the year ended 31 December
2007.
The Board expects to announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31
December 2007 in mid-May and expects to report at that time results in line with
the Company's trading update of 20 December 2007. It also expects to report a
net debt position that is lower than the £3m indicated last December. The Group
is in talks to re-negotiate the capital repayment schedule of its term loan
facilities and its bankers have indicated that it is their intention to renew
its overdraft facilities at their existing levels.
Trading update
We are pleased to report that following the delays in order placement
experienced in 2007, many of the orders concerned have since been placed. In
the six months ended 28 February 2008, the Group received orders for its
continuing business (excluding UK Government and Commercial software) totalling
£12.5m. It is expected that the majority of these orders will be delivered
during the course of 2008.
In addition to those announced last December, we have been awarded the
following:
• A contract worth almost £1m to supply ProVida in-car Automatic Number
Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems to a major overseas customer.
• Orders together worth in excess of £1m for the supply and installation of
eyeTrainTM on-board digital surveillance systems to Bombardier
Transportation and for passenger information displays to Alstom Belgium.
• Orders for £0.75m from the Ministry of Defence for radio systems and
electronic countermeasures equipment to be fitted to rotary wing aircraft.
• A $0.9m order for the UVMSTM video management system from a US casino
customer. This is the first major order to be received since the inception
of the Group's exclusive licencing agreement with BAE Systems Integrated
System Technologies (BAE) and follows the award of a $1.1m order from
Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel announced at the end of last year.
Strategic Review
The Board announced last December that as a result of its review of future
strategy it had sold its UK Government and Commercial software business to BAE
for a cash consideration of £2.5m. That business had been incurring losses and
the sale included the assignment of an onerous lease which had a residual term
of almost nine years.
The Board is continuing to actively pursue opportunities for other means of
maximising shareholder value and will update shareholders as appropriate.
For further information:
Petards Group plc Collins Stewart Europe Limited Parkgreen Communications
Andy Wonnacott, Finance Director Mark Connelly Paul McManus
Tel: 0845 002 0123 Tel: 020 7523 8350 Mob: 07980 541 893
www.petards.com paul.mcmanus@parkgreenmedia.com
END
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