McBride plc : - Trading Update

McBride PLC

Trading Update

McBride PLC, Europe's leading provider of Private Label Household and Personal Care products, provides its trading update for the six months ending 31 December 2012.

Revenue at constant currency has declined by 6% as expected, mainly as a consequence of the previously announced wind-down in contract manufacturing.  Private Label revenue at constant currency has declined by 2%, as a consequence of the decision to exit certain low-margin non-core Private Label business, although revenue from our Core and Future Growth categories has grown by 2%.  Whilst trading in our Core and Future growth categories has been encouraging overall, we have seen some weaker trading in December in our core Western European markets as a consequence of the continued challenging economic environment in this region.

The Board therefore expects Adjusted Operating Profit for the first half to be around 12% higher than the same period in the prior year.

Net debt at the period end will be around £80m.

Looking forward, an increase in product launches early in the second half is expected to lead to significant Private Label revenue growth.  However, the full impact of this growth in the second half will be dependent to some extent on the exact timing of customer product launches and wider economic conditions.

Chris Bull, Chief Executive, commented:

"As we reported at the full year and again at our Q1 IMS in October, our financial performance this year will be second-half weighted reflecting a wind-down in contract manufacturing that is allowing us to grow our Private Label business.  I am therefore pleased that we expect to report first half revenue growth at constant currency of 2% in our Core and Future Growth categories, as Private Label has continued to win market share from the branded competition.  We have in place an exciting programme of product launches for the second half that will accelerate further our Private Label revenue growth."

The Group intends to announce its interim results for the six months ending 31 December 2012 on 7th February 2013.

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