24 February 2020
Judges Scientific plc
("Judges Scientific", "Judges", the "Company" or the "Group")
Statement regarding COVID-19
The Board of Judges continues to closely monitor developments in China and the potential effect of the COVID-19 epidemic on its business.
With the current scale of the outbreak, and provided it does not last more than three months and remains largely contained within China, it is not expected that there will be a significant impact to the Group's 2020 trading.
The Group operates with an average 3-month order book, so in the near term the current travel restrictions are expected to only have a temporary impact, deferring rather than reducing revenue. Unaudited revenues for China/Hong Kong represented £9.5 million in 2019.
In relation to Judges' supply chain, direct and indirect supply from China varies from business to business in the Group, with only one subsidiary having significant supply chain exposure. The Board is monitoring developments closely and at this stage of the outbreak, currently considers that supply chain disruptions will be manageable.
The situation remains under active review by the Board.
Judges Scientific |
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David Cicurel, CEO Brad Ormsby, Group FD |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3829 6970 |
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Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser & Broker) |
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Stephane Auton Edward Mansfield Sarah Mather |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 |
Liberum (Joint Broker) Bidhi Bhoma Euan Brown Media enquiries: Alma PR (Financial Public Relations) |
Tel : +44 (0) 20 3100 2222 |
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett Sam Modlin |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3405 0205 [email protected] |
Notes to editors:
Judges Scientific plc (AIM: JDG), is a group involved in the buy and build of scientific instrument businesses. The Group currently consists of 17 businesses acquired since it was re-admitted to AIM in 2005.
The acquired companies are primarily UK-based with products sold worldwide to a diverse range of markets including: higher education institutions, the scientific communities, manufacturers and regulatory authorities. The UK is a recognised centre of excellence for scientific instruments. The Group has received five Queen's Awards for innovation and export.
The Group's companies predominantly operate in global niche markets, with long term growth fundamentals and resilient margins.
Judges Scientific maintains a policy of selectively acquiring businesses that generate sustainable profits and cash. Shareholder returns are created through the repayment of debt, organic growth and dividends.
For further information, please visit www.judges.uk.com
