Chamberlin PLC (AIM:CMH), the specialist castings and engineering group, has said its trading in the first half of its current financial year is "in line".
In a statement to be delivered to the company's annual general meeting this morning, Kevin Price, Chamberlin's chief executive, said: "I am pleased to report that trading across all of Chamberlin's businesses is in line with expectations in the first half of the financial year, as we continue to implement our strategy and build on the improved operational and financial performance achieved in the previous financial year."
He added: "Despite orders and operational performance at Russell Ductile Castings (RDC) and Petrel remaining buoyant, the group's profitability in H1 2023 has been held back by a slower recovery at Chamberlin & Hill Castings (CHC). We have continued to take the necessary corrective actions in H1 2023 at CHC to improve its performance through cost savings and margin enhancement initiatives, with this business now entering H2 2023 at a broadly break-even position on a monthly basis.
"These actions, together with the profit contributions expected from the contract wins discussed below, give the board confidence that CHC will deliver a strong, profitable performance in H2 2023 and enable the group to meet market expectations for the year ending 31 May 2023."
Price noted, however, that its board "remains mindful of the demand on working capital that the expected growth in revenue in the second half from new orders at CHC and the capacity expansion at RDC will create, and said it continues to evaluate opportunities to strengthen the balance sheet, including in relation to the group's property assets, in order to deliver on the group's growth objectives."