REG - Solid State PLC - AGM Statement

Solid StateAnnouncement

07/09/2022 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220907:nRSG5083Ya&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 5083Y  Solid State PLC  07 September 2022

Solid State plc

("Solid State", the "Group" or the "Company")

AGM Statement

 

Solid State plc (AIM: SOLI), the specialist value added component supplier and
design-in manufacturer of computing, power, and communications products,
announces an AGM statement ahead of the Annual General Meeting being held at
9.30am today.

This is the first AGM following the acquisition of Custom Power. The business,
located in Orange County, California, USA, was acquired in early August 2022
and has now completed its first month's trading post completion. The Board is
very pleased with the initial performance of the business, and engagement of
the team, as it is integrated into the power business unit. The demand for
Custom Power's products continues to be strong with the open order book
increasing to £16.8m ($19.5m) at the end of August, which takes the Group
open order book to £106.8m (March 2022: £85.5m; like-for-like including
Custom Power £98.3m).

The Group has seen the strong order intake reported in the final results
converting into a record start to billings in the financial year ending 31
March 2023 ("FY2023"), with constant currency organic revenue growth for the
first half of FY 2023 expected to be in excess of 25%.

As previously reported, the Group looks to match its US Dollar purchases with
US Dollar sales to maintain a natural FX hedge. As a result of the
strengthening US Dollar the reported revenue will benefit in the first half of
FY2023, albeit correspondingly the reported margin percentage will be slightly
reduced. On a constant currency basis, margins are expected to be stable and
comparable with the prior year. As the proportion of higher value added
business increases, there are good opportunities to realise margin accretion.

During Q1 2023, the Group saw the open order book continue to build with order
schedules continuing to extend to 18 months and beyond as customers look to
manage their supply chains.  Order intake remains solid across all target
markets with demand in the defence sector being particularly buoyant.

While there are indications that supply chains have started to stabilise, lead
times continue to be extended and are expected to remain so for the rest of
the financial year.

As supply chains begin to normalise, the Group expects to see lead times
reduce which will be similarly reflected in customers' order schedules.

The Group continues to deliver on its organic growth strategy through the
targeting of structural growth markets, complemented by a pipeline of
strategic acquisition opportunities which it will develop as we progress
through the year. The strong start to the year, record open order book and
trading momentum underpin the near-term prospects and give the Directors
optimism for the outturn being at least in-line with analyst expectations and
exciting midterm future prospects.

 

(1) Analysts from brokers WH Ireland Limited, finnCap Limited, and Edison
Investment Research Limited, provide equity research on Solid State, and the
Company considers the average of their research forecasts to represent market
expectations, being, for Solid State's 2022/23 financial year, revenue of
£108m, and adjusted profit before tax* of £9.15m.

* The adjustments relate to IFRS 3 acquisition amortisation, share based
payments charges, and non-recurring charges in respect of redundancies and
acquisition costs and fair value adjustments.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Solid State plc                                           Via Walbrook

 Gary Marsh - Chief Executive

 Peter James - Group Finance Director
 WH Ireland (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)             020 7220 1666

 Mike Coe / Sarah Mather (Corporate Finance)

 Fraser Marshall (Sales)

 finnCap (Joint Broker)                                    020 7220 0500

 Ed Frisby (Corporate Finance)

 Rhys Williams / Tim Redfern (Sales / ECM)
 Walbrook PR (Financial PR)                                020 7933 8780

 Tom Cooper / Nick Rome                                    0797 122 1972

                                                           solidstate@walbrookpr.com (mailto:solidstate@walbrookpr.com)

 

 

Analyst Research Reports: For further analyst information and research see the
Solid State plc website: https://solidstateplc.com/research/
(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__solidstateplc.com_research_&d=DwMFAg&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=05PHl3GHdShYuaCii2fBRpoqaNr9B1d97X09daeosu0&m=JmX-gQVke87P3UDBxQzNglNm9FfzH5yZtIa_SmElSS4&s=ib8r3ul2tCaEvJ39SnR1LT7nCa7gAcRQzgO-kNoyZoM&e=)

 

Notes to Editors:

Solid State plc (SOLI) is a value added electronics group supplying
commercial, industrial and defence markets with durable components,
assemblies, manufactured units and power units for use in specialist and harsh
environments.  The Group's mantra is - 'Trusted technology for demanding
environments'.  To see an introductory video on the Group
- https://bit.ly/3kzddx7 (https://bit.ly/3kzddx7)

 

Operating through two main divisions: Systems (Steatite, Active Silicon &
Custom Power) and Components (Solid State Supplies, Pacer, Willow Technologies
& AEC); the Group specialises in complex engineering challenges often
requiring design-in support and component sourcing for computing, power,
communications, electronic, electro-mechanical and opto-electronic products.

 

Headquartered in Redditch, UK, Solid State employs approximately 400 staff
across the UK and US, serving specialist markets with high barriers to entry
in industrial, defence and security, transportation, medical and energy.

 

Solid State was established in 1971 and admitted to AIM in June 1996.  The
Group has grown organically and by acquisition - having made 4 acquisitions in
the last 5 years.

 

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
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  AGMUPUWUBUPPGMQ