Braced for impact

Umeco has reported promising results for the period from 1 October 2008 to the end of January 2009, but says it is bracing itself for a difficult financial year.

The Leamington Spa-based company reported trading in line with expectations, with its order book at £202.3m despite the effects of industrial action at Boeing, delays to the US aerospace giant’s 787 programme, and current economic difficulties.

These results have been driven by growth in demand in its Advanced Composites Group (ACG), which has recently secured a contract to provide phenolic prepreg materials for a Ministry of Defence (MoD) vehicle armour project.

Umeco Supply Chain is also currently in a strong position through recent contract wins. In February 2009, Pattonair UK, part of Umeco Supply Chain, was awarded a five-year contract worth worth £4.5m with BAE Systems Military Air Solutions for the supply of aerospace hardware.

However, in a statement, Umeco said: ‘With the external environment expected to remain challenging for some time, we anticipate a slower rate of organic growth in the coming year and actions have been taken to reduce the Group's cost base where appropriate.’