REG - Solid State PLC - AGM Statement

Solid StateAnnouncement

06/09/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 4729L  Solid State PLC  06 September 2023

 

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 its Annual General Meeting being held at 2
Ravensbank Business Park, Hedera Road, Redditch, B98 9EY at 9.30am today.

The Directors are pleased to report a strong start to the financial year
across both divisions, as the Group continues to benefit from its robust and
diverse customer base across multiple sectors. The geopolitical drivers have
meant the Group has seen particularly strong order intake in the security
& defence sector, with the medical sector continuing to see good demand
and new design opportunities.

Custom Power, acquired just over a year ago, is now an integral part of the
Group, providing US battery power production.  Solid State has continued to
see the benefits of the excellent collaboration between the Group's UK and US
teams to create product and market development opportunities, demonstrating
the value of the strategy of internationalising the Group and positioning it
to take advantage of this high growth sector.

The NATO contract referred to in previous announcements has now been
substantially delivered, with the result that the associated inventory and
payables position reported at the final results in July is unwinding.

Solid State continues to maintain a strong balance sheet which provides the
business with advantageous commercial and competitive strength for working
capital needs and M&A opportunities.

The Group continues to invest in securing inventory to manage the delivery of
its order book through timely order fulfillment and supply chain risk
mitigation. As previously reported, we expect to see net debt continuing to
fall in the first half, and to be consistent with expectations for the full
year(1).

The order book profile, driven by customer order schedules, is continuing to
normalise as lead times improve. The order book remains strong totaling
£101.1m with circa 65% expected to be delivered in the remainder of the
current financial year.

The Board is confident in meeting the recently upgraded forecasts(1) for the
full year and in managing supply chain and input cost risks which remain
stubborn, whilst also being mindful of the current macro-economic risks.

Solid State remains ambitious and continues to review acquisition
opportunities and organic growth initiatives, with a view to meeting its new
2030 strategic objective of maintaining compound annual growth in total
shareholder return in excess of 20%.

A further trading update will be announced towards the end of October in
respect of the first six months' trading of this financial year.

 

(1) Cenkos Securities plc, WH Ireland plc, and finnCap Limited, provide equity
research on Solid State, and the Company considers the average of their
research forecasts to represent market expectations for Solid State's
FY2023/24 financial year, being revenue of £147.3m, adjusted profit before
tax* of £11.9m and net debt of £3.1m.

Investor Site Visits to Head Office in Redditch

Solid State holds site visits to its head office in Redditch where operations
from both the Systems and Components divisions can be seen.  Interested
investors should contact solidstate@walbrookpr.com
(mailto:solidstate@walbrookpr.com) .

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
 Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)      020 73978900

 Adrian Hadden / Callum Davidson (Corporate Finance)

 Jasper Berry (Sales)
 finnCap (Joint Broker)                                        020 7220 0500

 Ed Frisby (Corporate Finance)

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

 Tom Cooper / Nick Rome / Joe Walker                           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 three
acquisitions in the last three years.

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