CIU Cape

TIDMCIU

RNS Number : 8713M

Cape plc

12 May 2015

12 May 2015

Cape plc

("Cape" or the "Group")

AGM Statement

Cape plc, the international provider of critical industrial services to the energy and mineral resources sectors, today issues the following AGM Statement for the period 1 January 2015 to date, incorporating the first quarter's results from 1 January 2015 to 5 April 2015.

The Group's overall trading for the first quarter was in line with the Board's expectations. Group order intake for the quarter was subdued due to continuing delays in the award of key UK maintenance contracts and a number of project deferrals for Motherwell Bridge. The resultant Group order book, as at the end of the first quarter of 2015, was GBP686 million (31 December 2014: GBP746 million). Post quarter end, Cape has announced significant maintenance contract awards in the UK with ExxonMobil and BP which have materially increased the Group order book.

As highlighted in the preliminary statement, the short term prospects across our markets are mixed but the long term demand for the Group's services is expected to grow. The UK market is expected to be subdued for the remainder of 2015 with lower project activity in the offshore sector and reduced volumes from coal power station outages, partially offset by solid demand for core maintenance activities. Activity levels in the MENA region remain encouraging for both construction and maintenance work. Construction activity in the LNG sector in Asia Pacific is increasing, both for modules being fabricated in Asian yards and also in Australia where, although the rate of increase in activity on the Wheatstone project is somewhat below our expectation, progress remains good. The Australian market remains challenging with low levels of demand and increasing pricing pressures. The Group has implemented cost management initiatives in both the UK and Australia which will mitigate some of the impact of the challenging markets in those countries.

As previously mentioned, the current market volatility continues to give uncertainty to the outcome of the second half of the year; however, given the performance of the business in the first quarter of 2015 and the opportunities we see ahead of us, the Board remains confident that, overall, the business remains on track to deliver in line with expectations for the year ending 31 December 2015.

Cape expects to announce its results for the half year ending 5 July 2015 on 26 August 2015.

Enquiries:

Cape plc

   Joe Oatley, Chief Executive                    +44 (0) 1895 459 979 
   Michael Speakman, CFO                        +44 (0) 1895 459 979 
   Buchanan                                              +44 (0) 207 466 5000 

Bobby Morse, Ben Romney, Jason Day

Forward looking statements

Any forward looking statements made in this document represent the Board's best judgment as to what may occur in the future. However, the Group's actual results for the current and future financial periods and corporate developments will depend on a number of economic, competitive and other factors, some of which will be outside the control of the Group. Such factors could cause the Group's actual results for future periods to differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements included in this announcement.

About Cape:

Cape (www.capeplc.com), which is premium listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, is an international leader in the provision of critical industrial services principally to the energy and natural resources sectors. Our multi-disciplinary service offering includes access systems, insulation, specialist coatings, passive fire protection, refractory linings, environmental services, oil and gas storage tanks and heat exchanger replacement and refurbishment. Cape employs over 17,000 people working across 21 countries and in 2014 reported revenue of GBP698.3 million.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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