‘Transformational year’ exceeds expectations at industrial giant

GKN Automotive

Melrose, which bought GKN in an £8.1bn takeover last April, has hailed a “transformational year” that has exceeded its expectations.

Its figures published today, for 2018, include eight months’ contribution from GKN. They show adjusted revenues of £9.1bn and adjusted pre-tax profits of £703m.

The FTSE 100 industrial group said its adjusted operating profit exceeded £1bn if it included GKN’s performance for the full 12-month period.

“This has been a transformational year for Melrose,” said Justin Dowley, chairman of Melrose Industries.  “The former GKN businesses are proving their potential to offer the outstanding opportunities we expected and much has already been achieved in the short period of ownership.”

Melrose did record a £550m statutory pre-tax loss, which was due to “significant acquisition related items”.

These included an amortisation charge of £401m, restructuring costs of £240m, deal costs of £153m, an impairment charge of £152m which mostly related to goodwill in its Brush business, and a £121m financial adjustment of its GKN-acquired inventory.

Yesterday, Melrose announced the sale of two former GKN assets for a total of £200m.

It sold Walterscheid Powertrain Group, which used to be called GKN Off Highway Powertrain, to American private equity firm One Equity Partners. Separately the GKN subsidiary Fokker Aerospace has sold its 44% stake in Belgian aerospace company SABCA to its joint venture partner, Dassault Belgique Aviation.

Melrose owns three other businesses besides GKN – Nortek, Brush and Ergotron.

Simon Peckham, chief executive of Melrose, said: “Although much of the public attention has been on the GKN businesses, we have continued to build and improve our existing businesses in 2018.”

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