Trifast PLC Trading Update (9504P)

TIDMTRI

RNS Number : 9504P

Trifast PLC

14 February 2019

Trifast plc

(Trifast, Group or TR)

"Holding the world together"

"Trifast is a global business serving a broad and balanced range of sectors and geographies and generating c.70% of revenues and profits outside of the UK. We are a full-service provider to our multinational customers, delivering reliable product engineering, quality and supply, via flexible global logistics solutions. It is these core skills that continue to allow us to increase market share across a wide customer base and put us in a good position to keep moving forward and delivering on our future aspirations even in a less certain world."

Trading Update

London, Thursday, 14 February 2019: Trifast plc (Main market LSE Symbol: TRI) issues the following unaudited Trading Update covering the period from the half year to the date of this announcement.

TRADING

Despite the macroeconomic backdrop impacting the outlook for industry as a whole, we are pleased to announce that the Group continues to trade in line with our expectations. Furthermore, recent contract wins, and a strong pipeline gives us confidence as we look to the future.

Globally, the automotive sector continues to present Trifast with significant opportunities for organic growth through a mix of cross-selling, new technologies as a result of the ongoing evolution to electric vehicles and the collaboration of both local and international TR capabilities. As expected, the weaknesses we previously highlighted in the UK automotive markets have remained, temporarily impacting revenues and profitability at a regional level. However, outside of the UK, we are continuing to build our market share with both existing and new key global Tier1 and OEM customers.

Across the wider Group, the sector and regional trends experienced in the first half have largely continued through the period.

It is also pleasing to report that PTS, which we acquired at the start of the financial year, has settled in well to the Group and is delivering strong year-on-year growth, while our TR Technical and Innovation Centres are adding value to our global customer partnerships. Project Atlas, our Group-wide investment programme to build the Trifast of tomorrow remains firmly on track and on budget, and we look forward to providing more detail on our progress at the full year.

BREXIT

Our cross-functional Brexit team which has been in place for the last two years has completed its contingency planning. We currently consider that both the operational and financial impact of any Brexit scenario will be manageable in the short term. Longer term implications for the wider UK economy are less easy to predict.

BANKING

We continue to operate well within our current facilities. As we indicated in the HY report, in order to support our future global growth aspirations, acquisition strategy and substantial investment programme over the next 3-5 years, we have initiated discussions with several banks in order to secure access to additional facilities and thereby maintain an appropriate degree of funding flexibility. This process is progressing very well, and we expect to be able to give more details shortly.

SUMMARY

Notwithstanding the fact that, macroeconomic factors, including currency volatility, the potential implications of Brexit and the performance of the world economy generally, will continue to influence market behaviour in the coming months; the Board is confident in its strategy and the Group's flexibility to adapt to change, and remains optimistic for the future.

A further update will be released in mid-April, ahead of the full year results which are scheduled to be announced in June.

 
 Enquiries please contact: 
-------------------------------------------- 
 Trifast plc 
 Malcolm Diamond MBE, Non-Executive Chairman 
 Mark Belton, Chief Executive Officer 
 Clare Foster, Chief Financial Officer 
 Office: [phone] 
 Email: [e-mail] 
 
 Peel Hunt LLP 
  Stockbroker & financial adviser 
 Mike Bell 
 Tel: [phone] 
 
 TooleyStreet Communications 
  IR & media relations 
 Fiona Tooley 
 Tel : [phone] 
 Email : [e-mail] 
 
 
 Editors' note: 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 LSE Premium Listing: Ticker: TRI 
 LEI number: 213800WFIVE6RUK3CR22 
 Group website: www.trifast.com 
 
   About us: 
   Trifast plc (TR) is an international specialist in the design, engineering, 
   manufacture and distribution of high quality industrial and Cat C 
   fastenings principally to major global assembly industries. 
 
   TR employs c.1300 people across 31 business locations within the 
   UK, Asia, Europe and the USA including eight high volume, high-quality 
   and cost-effective manufacturing sites across the world. These sites 
   produce over 33% of the total product which is sold and distributed 
   by TR to over 60 countries worldwide. 
 
   As a full-service provider to multinational OEMs and Tier 1 companies 
   spanning several sectors, TR delivers comprehensive support to its 
   customers across every requirement, from concept design through to 
   technical engineering consultancy, manufacturing, supply management 
   and global logistics. 
 
   For more information, visit 
   Investor website: www.trifast.com 
   Commercial website: www.trfastenings.com 
   LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/tr-fastenings 
   Twitter: www.twitter.com/trfastenings 
   Facebook: www.facebook.com/trfastenings 
 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

END

TSTVXLFFKLFXBBE

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2019 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)