Hampson board announces plans to sell the aerospace group
THE board of Black Country aerospace group Hampson Industries has announced it is to put the business up for sale.
The shock announcement was released in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today.
The firm has been in difficulties for some time due to the decline in the aerospace sector globally and problems within a major US acquisition.
In the statement, the group said it continued to focus on refinancing its bank facilities, however, the board believed it prudent to review all financing and strategic options for the company, including the sale of the business.
“In the context of a potential sale, the board has appointed DC Advisory Partners and Sagent Advisors Inc. to conduct a formal sale process for the entire issued or to be issued share capital of Hampson as part of the assessment of strategic options,” it said.
Interested parties will be required to enter into a non-disclosure agreement with the group before any commercially sensitive information is made available.
In a management statement covering the period from October 1, 2011, the group said it had achieved revenue of £55.6m. Order books stood at £120.7m as of February 5, 2012 (September 30, 2011: £119m.
The group’s Tooling division, which comprises Coast Composites Inc, Global Tooling Systems Inc and Odyssey Industries Inc, achieved revenues for the period of £39.8m. The order book for the division at February 5 was £57.3m.
“Issues have been identified during the testing and customer approval process for the group’s largest tooling order, which mean that some deliveries are now expected to move from fiscal year 2012 to 2013. The group is assessing the overall effect on revenue and profit in the light of on-going discussions with the customer,” continued the statement.
It said management actions at Odyssey had resulted in trading at or above breakeven in each of the last three months.
The group’s Aerostructures & Composites division, which comprises Composites Horizons Inc, Texstars Inc, BHW (Components) Ltd and the group’s Indian operations, achieved revenues for the period to February 5 of £15.8m.
The performance has been attributed to continued strong activity at CHI and improved volumes at Texstars. The order book for the division stands at £63.4m.
The group said it continued to seek “strategic options” for its BHW and India operations and while discussions remained at a relatively early stage, indicative offers had been received for the businesses.
In October 2011, the group completed the disposal of its Shims businesses for £51.5m. In December 2011, the group also settled a legal dispute with an immediate cash benefit of approximately £1.6m.
“Following these events the net debt at February 5, 2012 was £54.9m. The tooling delays have resulted in an increase in working capital and borrowings, which is expected to continue in the short term,” it said.
