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SARANTEL FISCAL YEAR END TRADING UPDATE
12 October 2005 - Sarantel Limited
| The Company is pleased to announce that it shipped 937,000 units in the financial year ended 30 September 2005 (2004: 170,000 units), up 451% year on year. Turnover is expected to be not less than £2.8 million (2004: £0.8 million), representing more than a three fold increase on the previous year and loss before tax will not exceed £5.6 million (2004: £3.8 million). Cash balances at the year end totalled £13.0 million. |
As stated previously, the Company aimed to ship at least 1 million units in the year. This target was dependent upon the successful installation of new equipment in March to boost capacity, and as announced in April, this installation was delayed by over three months by two key suppliers. It is important to note that demand remained strong and there were more than sufficient orders in place to exceed the Company's goal of 1 million units, which will be achieved by mid October. During the second half, Sarantel continued to identify new business opportunities in its core GPS market and achieved new design wins with customers in Europe and Asia. Notably, the Company demonstrated its ability to diversify its customer base and penetrate other high growth markets beyond GPS when it received the largest single order in its history for 300,000 units. This win was for a new and rapidly growing North American market. The Company expects to derive most of its revenues from the GPS market and this new market during 2006. Both of these markets are dynamic, early stage and rapidly growing and therefore difficult to forecast in the near term. The Company intends to consolidate production processes on the generation of production equipment now installed at Sarantel. In this financial year, capacity will be increased by adding to this existing set of production equipment. This measured approach will enable the Company to improve productivity and ensure that it can develop a scaleable platform for the future. The Company is targeting year on year revenue growth in the 2006 financial year in excess of that achieved in 2005. *including a one-off charge of £0.3 million for additional depreciation arising on a change in the estimated useful life of certain categories of fixed assets. David Wither, Chief Executive Officer said: 'The Company has made enormous progress during the past year and the entire team is working very hard to build a solid foundation for future growth. Demand in our core GPS market remains robust and we expect strong growth to continue as we enter a new and rapidly growing market in North America during this financial year. I am confident that we are well on track to successfully execute the long term strategy for the Company.'
http://www.sarantel.com
About: Sarantel Limited
Sarantel is a world-class manufacturer of miniature antennas based on its revolutionary PowerHelix™ filtering antenna technology. From humble beginnings, the company has grown significantly. Founded in 2000 as a VC-funded technology spin-off headquartered in a garage, the company now employs over 100 in locations across the globe. In 2004 the European Tech Tour identified Sarantel as one of the Top 25 high growth technology companies in the UK. In March 2005, Sarantel floated on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market, and in August 2005 Sarantel shipped its one-millionth antenna. |
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