Sales fall at Victrex
HIGH performance thermoplastic manufacturer Victrex said today it is unlikely to meet sales targets for 2009 as economic conditions deteriorate further.
The Cleveley-based group, which has sites in Hong Kong, China, US, South Korea and Taiwan, said it decided to update the market early after a sharp fall in sales last month prompted it to review its cost base.
However Victrex, which supplies a number of markets including transport, industrial, electronics and medical, added that it remains in a strong financial position with a healthy balance sheet, good cash generation and no debt. The group also expects to benefit from the slump in the value of Sterling.
Chief executive David Hummel said even though the current economic climate is clearly impacting sales in the short term, Victrex remain committed to the key objective of growth through new application development.
He said: “Based on the current trading environment, we consider it unlikely that sales in the remaining months will grow sufficiently for us to meet expected sales volume for the year to 30 September 2009.
“While still fully committed to driving forward the growth of the business, we are currently progressing a full review of our cost base in the light of current trading to ensure our resources are prioritised and focused on maximising volume from new business.”
Victrex will announce its preliminary results on December 16.
