AQA Aquabella Grp

RNS Number:9463N
Aquabella Group PLC
13 February 2008

13 February 2008


                      Aquabella Group plc (the 'Company')

                        Trading and Financing Statement

In the Chairman's Statement of 20 December 2007 reporting the Interim Results
for the six months to 30 September 2007 the Company stated that the first
quarter of 2008 would be important for the financial well being of the group,
that the Board would be monitoring sales volumes and prices closely and that the
Board would continue to review working capital forecasts carefully.

Tonnages sold during December and January, which are normally low sales months,
have been in excess of forecast. In value terms, this was more than offset by
lower introductory offers and promotional pricing on fillets, which although
proving successful in helping to establish the product and the New Forest brand,
has led to lower than anticipated revenues. As a consequence, working capital in
the business is under pressure and the Board is actively exploring options to
address its short term financing requirements. In the meantime, the Company
continues to monitor its working capital position closely.

Fillet sales into one major retailer have shown more than a five fold increase
over previous whole fish sales and penetration of the estate has extended.
Encouraging discussions continue with other retail customers in regard to the
launch of fillets. In the meantime, sales of whole and gutted fish are holding
up well. Additional promotions are expected with both a major retailer and a
wholesaler in March and this should further encourage sales volumes.

The de-scaling machine which was anticipated to be operational in January is now
expected to be operational in February, which will improve processing
efficiency.

The taste and quality of the fish is excellent and now receiving widespread
praise, although the Company believes still further improvement is possible.
Some momentum is being seen in PR terms, with a number of complimentary stories
appearing across a wide spectrum of printed media. It was particularly pleasing
to see such a positive article appear in the current "March" issue of the BBC
Good Food Magazine.

A further announcement will be made in due course.

Enquiries

Aquabella
Pieter Totte
020 7234 0570

Shore Capital
Guy Peters
020 7408 4090






                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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