Global expansion increases growth opportunities for Trifast

CONTINUED global expansion is helping to offset economic uncertainty across traditional markets, Birmingham engineering group Trifast has said.

The group, which completed the £15m acquisition of a Malaysian industrial fastening group late last year, said it was encouraged by the progress made by the enlarged group.

In a Q3 trading update covering the period since October 1, 2011, Trifast said the group’s strong performance in both sales and profitability in the first half of the financial year had provided a solid foundation and opportunities to progress.

“Whilst global recovery is still reliant on overall economic and customer confidence getting stronger, it is pleasing to report that in the period being reported upon, the group has continued to benefit from both its ‘self-help’ objectives and its automotive customers’ manufacturing schedule requirements gaining momentum,” it said.  

However, it added that due to a mix of customer de-stocking in Europe and the United States on the back of on-going Eurozone concerns, together with the impact of the Thai floods, trading in Q3 had softened to levels similar to the comparable period in 2010.

Nevertheless, it said margins throughout the period had held up well and were largely maintained at the half-year level.

The group is hoping the uncertainties experienced in the final quarter of last year will be consigned to the three months as it added trade since the beginning of 2012 had seen a pick-up.

It said its £15m acquisition of Power Steel and Electro-Plating Works (PSEP) was progressing well and trading had been in line with the board’s expectations.

In summary, the group said it business objective remained to increase margins and target growth opportunities using its expanded global presence.

“Whilst uncertainty in the world markets remains, the directors are encouraged by the progress the enlarged business is making through enhanced capabilities and the opportunities afforded to us to rebuild supply partnerships following the phasing out of some transfer projects within China and Singapore.

“The group continues to generate positive cash flow and expects to maintain debt levels of around 20% at the year end. Despite increases in raw materials and freight costs and foreign exchange continuing to impact all businesses, the Trifast board remain comfortable with consensus market forecasts and confident that the enlarged business will make progress both commercially and strategically throughout 2012,” it said.