Umeco remains in talks to sell supply chain arm
Umeco, the Leamington Spa-based supplier to the aerospace and defence industries, has said this morning that it is still holding talks about selling the supply chain arm of the business. The news comes as the company revealed revenue across the company in the four months to 31 January 2011 was £152.8m, 15.3 per cent higher than that achieved over the same period last year.
A statement from the company read: “Further to the announcement on 7 February 2011 noting the recent speculation in relation to a possible sale of its supply chain business, the board can confirm that it is continuing to pursue non-exclusive discussions which may or may not lead to a sale.”
The company’s contract with Rolls-Royce to support their North American operations went live as planned on 1 January 2011. However, Umeco has admitted that the investment in start-up inventory for the contract is expected to be higher than originally planned, but that it is expected that this additional investment will unwind during the first year of the contract term.
The business also said a number of other new contracts in Europe and Asia are “in the process of being implemented”.
Umeco’s supply chain businesses trade globally as Pattonair. Customers include Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Safran Group, Parker Aerospace, Goodrich, Thales Aerospace, Turbomeca, ATK, Lockheed Martin and the US Department of Defense.
Overall, Umeco said it is “encouraged by the improving order book”, and that the group's trading performance for the year to 31 March 2011 remains consistent with the board's expectations.
