For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240125:nRSY8323Aa&default-theme=true
RNS Number : 8323A Strix Group PLC 25 January 2024
Strix Group Plc
("Strix", the "Company" or the "Group")
Pre-Close Trading Update, Chief Financial Officer Appointment and Notice of
Results
Strix Group Plc (AIM: KETL) announces a pre-close trading update for the year
ended 31 December 2023.
Despite the continued challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment,
Strix has achieved adjusted profit after tax for the full year of £20.6m on a
constant currency and £20.1m on a reported basis.
Demand in kettle controls in the key export regulated markets remains subdued,
and whilst it has delivered quarter on quarter recovery during 2023 which it
expects to continue, it remains c.20% lower by volume than 2021 and the
recovery has been slower than anticipated. Strix's unregulated and China
markets, which represents c.20% of Strix's kettle controls' gross profit has
shown more positive signs of growth. Following its successful integration,
Billi has delivered double digit revenue and profit growth on a constant
currency basis which is consistent with its strong track record over the past
five years. LAICA also performed robustly with double digit revenue and profit
growth on a constant currency basis.
Cash generation for the Group during the second half of the year was strong
and year-end net debt will be c.£83.7m. The Company confirms this year-end
position for the net debt to EBITDA was 2.15x and debt service coverage ratio
was 1.15x which are within its covenants.
Strix is now focussed on delivering future profitable growth and the optimal
resources required to achieve this. This will include a new internal
reorganisation programme that will help the Group to continue to maximise cash
generation and support debt reduction with a clear plan to get net debt /
EBITDA to below 1.5x before the end of 2025. More details will be provided at
the Preliminary Results in March.
Chief Financial Officer Appointment
Further to the announcement made on 27 October 2023, Strix is also pleased to
announce the appointment of Clare Foster as Chief Financial Officer. Clare
has over 25 years of experience working in international businesses, and was
most recently the Group Chief Financial Officer at Trifast plc making her a
valuable addition to Strix's leadership team. She will join Strix on 1
February 2024 and following a handover period, will formally take office and
join the Board on 2 April 2024. Mark Kirkland intends to step down as
Interim Chief Financial Officer on 2 April 2024, remaining in that role until
then to finalise the Preliminary Results and support an effective
transition. He will continue to be a Non-Executive Director on the Strix
Board.
Notice of Results
The Group will announce its Preliminary Results for the twelve month period
ended 31 December 2023 on 27 March 2024.
The following information is disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g)
of the AIM Rules for Companies in relation to Clare Louise Foster, aged 49:
Clare has held the following directorships in the past five years:
TR VIC S.P.A.
Precision Technology Supplies Limited
Charles Stringer's Sons & Co. Limited
Fastech (Scotland) Limited
Fastener Techniques Limited
Ivor Green (Exports) Limited
Lancaster Fastener Company Limited
Micro Screws & Tools Limited
Rollthread international Limited
Serco-Ryan Limited
T.R. Fastenings Limited
TR Europe Limited
TR Falcon Fastening Solutions
TR Fastenings España - Ingenieria Industrial, S.L.
TR Group Limited
TR Southern Fasteners Limited
TriFast Holdings (Asia) Limited
TriFast Holdings (US) Inc
TriFast Holdings B.V.
TriFast Overseas Holdings Limited
TriFast plc
TriFast Qualifying Employee Share Ownership Trustee Limited
TriFast Systems Limited
TriFix Limited
Clare Foster holds no ordinary shares in the Company.
There is no further information on Clare required to be disclosed under
Schedule Two, paragraph (g) (i)-(viii) of the AIM Rules for Companies.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Strix Group Plc +44 (0) 1624 829829
Mark Bartlett, CEO
Mark Kirkland, Interim CFO
Zeus (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3829 5000
Nick Cowles / Jamie Peel / Jordan Warburton (Investment Banking)
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Matthew Blawat / Francis North
IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR and IR) +44 (0) 20 3934 6630
Graham Herring / Tim Metcalfe / Florence Chandler
ABOUT STRIX GROUP PLC
Isle of Man based Strix, is a global leader in the design, manufacture and
supply of kettle safety controls and other components and devices involving
water heating and temperature control, steam management and water filtration.
Strix's core product range comprises a variety of safety controls for small
domestic appliances, primarily kettles. Kettle safety controls require
precision engineering and intricate knowledge of material properties in order
to repeatedly function correctly. Strix has built up market leading capability
and know-how in this field since being founded in 1982.
Strix trades on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: KETL).
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 TSTBIMLTMTJTBTI