Strix
Group Plc
("Strix",
the "Company" or the "Group")
Pre-Close
Trading Update, Chief Financial Officer
Appointment and Notice of
Results
Strix Group Plc (AIM: KETL)
announces a pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 December
2023.
Despite the continued challenging
macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, Strix has achieved
adjusted profit after tax for the full year of £20.6m on a constant
currency and £20.1m on a reported basis.
Demand in
kettle controls in the key export regulated markets remains
subdued, and whilst it has delivered quarter on quarter recovery
during 2023 which it expects to continue, it remains c.20% lower by
volume than 2021 and the recovery has been slower than anticipated.
Strix's unregulated and China markets, which
represents c.20% of Strix's kettle controls' gross profit
has shown more positive signs of growth.
Following its successful integration, Billi has delivered double
digit revenue and profit growth on a constant
currency basis which is consistent with its strong track
record over the past five years. LAICA also performed robustly with
double digit revenue and profit growth on a
constant currency basis.
Cash generation for the Group during
the second half of the year was strong and year-end net debt will
be c.£83.7m. The Company confirms this
year-end position for the net debt to EBITDA was 2.15x and
debt service coverage ratio was 1.15x which are within its
covenants.
Strix is now focussed on delivering
future profitable growth and the optimal resources required to
achieve this. This will include a new internal reorganisation
programme that will help the Group to continue to maximise cash
generation and support debt reduction with
a clear plan to get net debt / EBITDA to below 1.5x before the end
of 2025. More details will be provided at
the Preliminary Results in
March.
Chief Financial Officer
Appointment
Further to the announcement made on
27 October 2023, Strix is also pleased to announce
the appointment of Clare Foster as Chief Financial
Officer. Clare has over 25 years of experience working in
international businesses, and was most recently the Group Chief
Financial Officer at Trifast plc making her a valuable addition to
Strix's leadership team. She will join Strix on 1 February 2024 and
following a handover period, will formally take office and join the
Board on 2 April 2024. Mark Kirkland
intends to step down as Interim
Chief Financial Officer on 2 April
2024, remaining in that role until then to finalise the Preliminary
Results and support an effective transition. He will continue
to be a Non-Executive Director on the Strix
Board.
Notice of Results
The Group will announce its
Preliminary Results for the twelve month period ended 31 December
2023 on 27 March 2024.
The following information is
disclosed pursuant to Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM
Rules for
Companies in relation to Clare Louise Foster, aged
49:
Clare has held the following
directorships in the past five years:
TR VIC S.P.A.
Precision Technology Supplies
Limited
Charles Stringer's Sons & Co.
Limited
Fastech (Scotland) Limited
Fastener Techniques
Limited
Ivor Green (Exports)
Limited
Lancaster Fastener Company
Limited
Micro Screws & Tools
Limited
Rollthread international
Limited
Serco-Ryan Limited
T.R. Fastenings Limited
TR Europe Limited
TR Falcon Fastening
Solutions
TR Fastenings España - Ingenieria
Industrial, S.L.
TR Group Limited
TR Southern Fasteners
Limited
TriFast Holdings (Asia)
Limited
TriFast Holdings (US) Inc
TriFast Holdings B.V.
TriFast Overseas Holdings
Limited
TriFast plc
TriFast Qualifying Employee Share
Ownership Trustee Limited
TriFast Systems Limited
TriFix Limited
Clare Foster holds no ordinary shares
in the Company.
There is no further information on
Clare required to be disclosed under Schedule Two, paragraph (g)
(i)-(viii) of the AIM Rules for Companies.
For further enquiries, please
contact:
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Strix Group Plc
Mark Bartlett, CEO
Mark Kirkland, Interim
CFO
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+44 (0) 1624 829829
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Zeus (Nominated Advisor and Joint
Broker)
Nick Cowles / Jamie Peel / Jordan
Warburton (Investment Banking)
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+44 (0) 20 3829 5000
|
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited
(Joint Broker)
Matthew Blawat / Francis
North
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+44 (0) 20 7710 7600
|
IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR
and IR) Graham Herring / Tim
Metcalfe / Florence Chandler
|
+44 (0) 20 3934 6630
|
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ABOUT STRIX GROUP PLC
Isle of Man based Strix, is a
global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of kettle
safety controls and other components and devices involving water
heating and temperature control, steam management and water
filtration.
Strix's core product range comprises
a variety of safety controls for small domestic appliances,
primarily kettles. Kettle safety controls require precision
engineering and intricate knowledge of material properties in order
to repeatedly function correctly. Strix has built up market leading
capability and know-how in this field since being founded in
1982.
Strix trades on the AIM Market of
the London Stock Exchange (AIM: KETL).