13 January
2020
XP Power
Limited
(“XP Power”, “the Group” or “the
Company”)
Pre-close Trading
Update
XP Power, one of the world's leading developers and
manufacturers of critical power control components to the
electronics industry, is today issuing a trading update for the
fourth quarter and year ended 31 December
2019.
Trading
Trading in the period since the Company’s update of 10 December 2019 has been in line with the
Board’s expectations. Order intake in Q4 2019 was strong with an
acceleration in December of the trends seen earlier in the quarter.
The improvement was seen across all of our sectors.
The Group’s new Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system is
working well and the Group has continued to ship at or above normal
rates since mid-November.
£ Millions |
2019 |
2018 |
Change |
Change in constant currency |
Like
for like change1 |
Orders |
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth quarter |
58.6 |
45.1 |
30% |
29% |
n/a |
Year to date |
215.1 |
198.4 |
8% |
4% |
2% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues |
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth quarter |
47.7 |
49.0 |
-3% |
-5% |
n/a |
Year to date |
200.4 |
195.1 |
3% |
-1% |
-4% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Book to
Bill |
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth quarter |
1.23 |
0.92 |
0.31 |
|
|
Year to date |
1.07 |
1.02 |
0.05 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Like for like basis, removing currency
effects and the impact of the Glassman acquisition in May 2018.
Financial Position
Net debt at 31 December 2019 was
£41.5 million, compared with £52.0 million at 31 December 2018. The net debt position benefited
from foreign exchange movements and the phasing of working capital
over the year end.
The Company renewed its financing facilities with effect from
8 November 2019, increasing the
revolving credit facility by US$15m
to US$120m, with a US$60m accordion option. The facility is provided
by HSBC UK Bank PLC, J.P. Morgan Securities PLC and DBS Bank Ltd on
similar terms to the previous arrangements, with a four year term
up to November 2023.
Dividend
A dividend of 20 pence per share
for the third quarter will be paid on 13
January 2020, to shareholders on the register at
13 December 2019.
The recommended dividend for the fourth quarter of 2019 will be
announced with the 2019 Final Results on 3
March 2020 but is not expected to be less than 36 pence per share, representing a minimum total
dividend of 91 pence per share for
2019, an increase of 7% over the total dividend of 85 pence per share paid for 2018.
Outlook
Order intake for the fourth quarter was strong and we remain
encouraged by the healthy order book and ongoing new design wins.
On this basis we expect revenue growth in the 2020 financial
year.
Enquiries:
XP Power
Duncan Penny, Chief Executive
Officer +44 (0)118 976 5155
Gavin Griggs, Chief Financial
Officer +44 (0)118 976 5155
Citigate Dewe
Rogerson
Kevin Smith/Jos Bieneman
+44 (0)20 7638 9571
Note to editors
XP Power designs and manufactures power controllers, the
essential hardware component in every piece of electrical equipment
that converts power from the electricity grid into the right form
for equipment to function.
XP Power typically designs power control solutions into the end
products of major blue-chip OEMs, with a focus on the Industrial
(circa 47% of sales), Healthcare (circa 24% of sales),
Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing (circa 18% of sales) and
Technology (circa 11% of sales) sectors. Once designed into a
programme, XP Power has a revenue annuity over the life cycle of
the customer’s product which is typically 5 to 7 years depending on
the industry sector.
XP Power has invested in research and development and its own
manufacturing facilities in China
and Vietnam, to develop a range of
tailored products based on its own intellectual property that
provide its customers with significantly improved functionality and
efficiency.
Headquartered in Singapore and
listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange since 2000,
XP Power serves a global blue-chip customer base from 29 locations
in Europe, North America and Asia.
For further information, please visit xppower.com