For Release

7.00am, 19 April 2017  

Acal plc

Trading Update

Acal plc (LSE: ACL, the "Group"), a leading international supplier of customised electronics to industry, today issues its trading update for the final quarter of the year ended 31 March 2017, ahead of the announcement of its full year results on 6 June 2017.

Trading since our update on 20 January 2017 has been very good and results for the full year are anticipated to be slightly ahead of our expectations.

Final quarter revenue for the Group was 15% ahead of last year at constant exchange rates² ("CER") and ahead 11% organically³. In the Design & Manufacturing division, revenue grew 8% organically, and in the Custom Distribution division, revenue grew 14% organically.

As expected, the Group performed more strongly in the second half with revenue increasing by 11% CER year-on-year, and by 6% organically.

Order intake for the final quarter was also strong, growing by 16% CER and 13% organically, with similar growth rates in both divisions. Consequently, the Group's forward order book has grown to a record year end high, and positions us well for further growth.  

Variohm, which was acquired in January, is performing well and cross-selling initiatives are underway.

Cash generation has been good in the final quarter and the Group's gearing ratio⁴ reduced below 1.5 times at 31 March 2017 from 1.9 times at 31 December 2016.  

For further information please contact:

Acal plc                                                                                                    01483 544 500

Nick Jefferies                          - Group Chief Executive

Simon Gibbins                        - Group Finance Director

Instinctif Partners                                                                                     020 7457 2020

Mark Garraway

Helen Tarbet

James Gray

Notes

This trading update is based upon unaudited management accounts and has been prepared solely to provide additional information on trading to the shareholders of Acal plc.  It should not be relied on by any other party for other purposes.  Certain statements made in this update are forward-looking statements.  Such statements have been made by the Directors in good faith using information available up until the date that they approved this update.  Forward-looking statements should be regarded with caution because of the inherent uncertainties in economic trends and business risks.

1.    Growth rates refer to the comparable prior year period unless stated. All growth rates are calculated using provisional, unaudited FY17 data which is subject to change.

2.    Growth rates at constant exchange rates ("CER"). The average sterling rate of exchange weakened 13% against the Euro compared with the average rate for last year (falling from €1.367 to €1.192), weakened 13% against the US Dollar and weakened 12% against Nordic currencies on average. 

3.    Organic growth for the Group is calculated at CER, including the equivalent pre-acquisition periods of Flux, Contour, and Plitron which were acquired last financial year (on 5 November 2015, 7 January 2016 and 1 February 2016 respectively), and Variohm which was acquired on 20 January 2017, and excluding the sales from Acal BFi Spain which was closed in December 2016.

4.     Group gearing is defined as net debt divided by underlying EBITDA, annualised for acquisitions.

Notes to Editors:

About Acal plc

Acal is a leading international supplier of customised electronics to industry. It designs, manufactures and distributes customer-specific electronic products and solutions to 25,000 industrial manufacturers. Acal is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ACL).

Acal has two divisions: Design & Manufacturing and Custom Distribution. The majority of its sales come from products and solutions which are created specifically for a customer. Acal works across a range of technologies, namely Communications & Sensors, Power & Magnetics, Electromechanical & Cabling, Microsystems, and Imaging & Photonics. 

Acal operates through the following wholly-owned businesses:  Acal BFi, Contour, Flux, Foss, Hectronic, MTC, Myrra, Noratel, Plitron, RSG, Stortech, Variohm and Vertec. It has operating companies and manufacturing facilities in a number of markets including the UK, Germany, France, the Nordic region, Benelux, Italy, Poland and Slovakia as well as in Asia (China, India, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand), North America (the US and Canada) and South Africa.