Charter plc Pre-close period Trading Update - in line with expectations
12/01/2007
Charter plc (the “Company”) is issuing the following statement in advance of its preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2006 which are due to be published on 15 March 2007.
On 12 September 2006, when the Company published its results for the six months to 30 June 2006, the Board expected that, given the strong market conditions which were then being experienced, ESAB, the welding and cutting business, and Howden, the air and gas handling business, were well placed to achieve growth in the second half of the year over the comparable period in 2005 and that the full year's results would be ahead of its previous expectations.
Since that time, the Company's trading has reflected the Board’s expectations on 12 September 2006.
Acquisition
On 22 December 2006, Howden acquired from Carrier Corporation the remaining 51% shareholding in Howden Compressors Limited, and its affiliated US sales company, that it did not own. The £12.5 million consideration was settled in cash at completion and included £2.4 million in respect of Carrier Corporation's share of the estimated cash in these companies at completion. The business, which is headquartered in Glasgow, designs and manufactures high quality compressors for use in the refrigeration and oil & gas sectors worldwide.
Contact
Andrew Fenwick; Pamela Small, Brunswick +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
Forward Looking Statements
Certain sections of the pre-close statement may include forward looking statements that are subject to risk factors associated with, amongst other things, the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate. It is believed that the expectations reflected in the statement are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables which are outside the control of the Company and could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated.