2 September 2021

Carclo plc

("Carclo" or the "Group")

AGM Trading Update

Carclo, a global manufacturer, principally of fine tolerance injection moulded plastic parts, publishes the following trading update for the first four months of its financial year ending 31 March 2022 ("FY22"), ahead of its Annual General Meeting which takes place today.

The Group has made an encouraging start to FY22, maintaining the momentum built in the second half of the prior year in spite of a challenging operating environment.  As a result, Group trading was ahead of management's expectations for the first four months of FY22, with performance also ahead of the equivalent prior period.

The Carclo Technical Plastics (CTP) division has performed strongly despite operational headwinds. Specifically, labour availability in the division's US businesses has been challenging in the early part of FY22, although this is expected to improve in the coming months as government support packages come to an end.  The availability and pricing of raw materials has also been difficult in recent months as general supply and logistics issues impact the business.  Some of the resultant input cost inflation has been offset by sales price increases. Inventories have also been held at a higher level to protect against supply disruption.   

Alongside the positive trading performance, the division continues to make good commercial progress with order intake in the medical and diagnostic sector remaining strong and showing some good potential.

The new customer programmes announced in December 2020 are moving into production on time and to budget, with these providing significant growth potential from the latter part of FY22.

The Aerospace division has experienced early signs of market recovery with order intake exceeding sales for the first four months of FY22 following a FY21 where sales exceeded order intake.  In addition to a general market improvement, the division has been successful in winning business with new customers in line with its long-term strategy.

Cash generation has also continued to be good in the first four months of FY22 and ahead of the prior year, with net debt as at 31 July 2021 of £28.4m and net debt excluding lease liabilities of £21.8m.  At a Group level the positive developments previously reported relating to the relationships with our principal bank and pension trustees have been maintained and further initiatives are being developed with the pension trustees to aim to improve the pension scheme's funding level more quickly than would be the case by employer contributions alone.

Carclo plans to announce its interim results for the six months to 30 September 2021 in November 2021.

About Carclo plc

Carclo plc is a public company whose shares are quoted on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Group is a global provider of value-adding engineered solutions for the medical, optical and aerospace industries.

LEI: 21380078MEM399JPI956

Enquiries:

Carclo plc                             01924 268040

Nick Sanders - Executive Chairman

FTI Consulting                    020 3727 1340

Nick Hasell / Susanne Yule