RNS Number:0501O
Abacus Group PLC
29 July 2003


For Immediate Release                                               29 July 2003




                                 ABACUS GROUP plc



                                   TRADING UPDATE



Abacus Group plc, a leading franchised distributor of electronic components in
the UK, Ireland and the Nordic region, has reviewed its performance to date and
can now update the market on  its outlook.



In our Interims announcement on 13 May, we said that the timing of an upturn in
earnings from large medical contracts was difficult to forecast, but that we
expected a gradual increase during the second half.



We now expect that this increase will not take place before the end of
September.  This will cause a small reduction in the contribution to our result
for the year ending 30 September 2003.



Currently the core business is experiencing some margin pressure, and at this
early stage looking forward to next year is difficult given the current weak
trading conditions in our industry. This is  further complicated by the fact
that many forecasters are reported as anticipating product shortages during
calendar 2004 due to rising  demand around the world. Our consistent policy  has
been to avoid encouraging earnings expectations based upon forecasts of a market
upturn, until we see evidence of it in our own trading.



We anticipate that the benefits to come from the medical contracts will largely
offset the margin pressure referred to above.  Consequently, it is our view that
the outlook for next year will be broadly similar to that for the current 12
months.



For further information, please contact:



Abacus Group
Martin Kent, Brian Murdoch or Peter Griffith-Jones
Tel: 01635 36222



Buchanan Communications
Tim Anderson/Bobbie Swanson
Tel: 020 7466 5000






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