AGM and Interim Management Statement
30 April 2009
Fiberweb’s Annual General Meeting will take place at 11.30 a.m. today at the offices of Baker & McKenzie LLP, 100 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V 6JA.
At the AGM, Malcolm Coster, Chairman, will make the following comments, which constitute the Company’s Interim Management Statement, covering the period from 1 January 2009 to 30 April 2009, as required by the UK Listing Authority’s Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
“Fiberweb has seen a solid start to trading in 2009. Reported sales are in-line with prior year, while underlying(1) operating profit and margins have continued to improve in line with our expectations.
As anticipated, volumes in the first quarter declined by 13%, primarily reflecting challenging conditions in Industrial markets that were noted at the time of our Preliminary Results in February, especially in housing-related segments. In the Hygiene business, volumes in consumer fabrics remained relatively stable, testifying to its defensive characteristics, while airlaid volumes suffered due to weak demand in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Underlying(1) gross margins strengthened due to the ongoing benefit of cost reduction programmes and improvements in operating efficiencies, as well as lower raw material prices. The cost reduction programme in European Consumer Fabrics, announced in January 2009, proceeded as planned in the period, as did the commissioning of the new Italian spunbond line.
Positive cash flow in the first quarter, coupled with small improvements in working capital, brought net debt at the end of March 2009 down slightly to £144m, slightly better than expected.”
(1) Underlying profit measures are before restructuring costs and other non-recurring items.
-ENDS-
Fiberweb
020 8439 8594
Daniel Dayan Chief Executive
Daniel Abrams Chief Financial Officer
Weber Shandwick Financial
020 7067 0700
Terry Garrett
Nick Dibden
James White