TIDMABC
RNS Number : 6807V
ABCAM Plc
15 July 2009
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For immediate release
15 July 2009
ABCAM PLC
("Abcam" or "the Company")
Year-end Trading Update
Cambridge, UK: Abcam plc (AIM: ABC), the rapidly growing bioscience company that
markets antibodies via its own online catalogue, is pleased to announce a
pre-close trading update ahead of its results for the year ended 30 June 2009.
Trading in the second half of the year has been strong and the exchange rate
environment has been more favourable than was previously envisaged due to the
continued relative weakness of sterling. Consequently sales for the year have
ended slightly ahead of our earlier expectations.
Gross margins have also been strong, which, together with the ongoing control of
costs and operational leverage inherent in the business, means that we
anticipate the profit before tax for the year will be around 9% ahead of current
market consensus.
The restructuring of the production facility in Cambridge, which was outlined in
the Company's interim results statement in March, has been completed
successfully and, as envisaged, an impairment charge of GBP1.1 million (GBP0.8
million after tax) for fixed assets that are no longer of use in the business
will be taken in the second half of the year.
Whilst it is difficult to assess what impact if any the current economic climate
is having on trading because of the defensive features of our market and
business model, we continue to exercise a degree of caution when assessing
future prospects as policy-makers around the world respond to unprecedented
challenges. There also remains the potential for further significant volatility
in exchange rates, which we have mitigated in part by selling forward a
substantial portion of our planned excess foreign currency for the 2009/10
financial year.
The preliminary results for the 2009 financial year will be announced in the
week commencing 7 September 2009.
For further information please contact:
Abcam
+ 44 (0) 1223 696000
Jonathan Milner, Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Iliffe, Chief Financial Officer
www.abcam.com
Numis Securities
+ 44 (0) 20 7260 1000
Michael Meade / Nick Westlake - Nominated Adviser
James Black - Corporate Broking
Buchanan Communications
+ 44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Mark Court / Mary-Jane Johnson / Stasa Filiplic
Notes for editors:
About Abcam plc
Abcam is a producer and distributor of research-grade antibodies headquartered
in Cambridge, UK, with a US office located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a
Japanese office in Tokyo. Abcam was admitted to AIM in November 2005 and trades
under the ticker symbol ABC. The Company produces and distributes its own and
third party produced antibodies to academic and commercial users throughout the
world with product information provided and ordering available through the
Company's website, www.abcam.com. The antibodies are sold under the Abcam brand
name. The Company's vision is to build the largest online antibody resource in
the world while also ensuring that the antibodies are of high quality and
commercially viable. Abcam now has an online catalogue of over 52,000 products,
most of which are antibodies, from over 250 suppliers supported by up-to-date
and detailed technical data sheets, which are created by the Company. The
Company currently employs 228 staff in its three operating companies.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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