Profits up for Key Technologies
SPECIALIST engineering company Key Technologies PLC has reported an increase in half year profits, posting a 9.4 per cent growth in underlying pre-tax profit to £1.37m in the six months ending in December 2009.
The company is chaired by David Grove, whose Grove Industries group has a controlling interest.
Revenue rose to £11.82m, an increase of 15.7 per cent compared with the £10.2m reported for the comparable period in 2008. In reporting its trading results today, the company also announced an interim dividend of 1.8p.
In September 2009, Key’s defence business, STS Defence, had become the first UK company in its sector to be accredited for Nadcap, the leading global quality assurance standard for the aerospace industry. STS Defence is a contract manufacturer in the defence industry, supplying the UK Ministry of Defence amongst other customers in the UK and overseas.
The group’s STS Rail division is a leading supplier of specialist signalling and communications products to the rail market in the UK and overseas. Key Technologies also supplies low voltage switchgear and motor control centres through its switchgear division.
With operations in Cradley Heath in the West Midlands, Gosport in Hampshire and Wimborne in Dorset, the group employs around 240 people, 110 of whom are based in the West Midlands.
David Grove OBE, said: “We have continued to benefit from our investment in new products, technology, productivity and efficiency improvements.
“Our strategy of developing the defence and rail businesses both organically, and by acquiring selective, earnings enhancing bolt-on businesses, remains in place. The second half of the current financial year has started well and trading is in line with our expectations.”
David Miller, Group Chief Executive, said: “The Nadcap accreditation has helped our defence business significantly. Our rail business has recently won its first significant export orders and we expect this to lead to additional export business in the future.”
Shares in Key Technologies, previously known as STS International Ltd, are already showing a healthy gain of 18 per cent to £2 since they were first listed on the West Midlands on-line share trading platform Investbx following its successful fund raising in November 2008.
