LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Technology company Laird PLC (LRD.L, LARD.L) on Friday said its trading is in line with its previous update. The company expects full-year underlying profit before tax to be around 50 million pounds. In the year 2015, the company's underlying profit before tax was 73.1 million pounds.
The company noted that performance Materials continues to face challenging market conditions and actions are being taken to stabilise and improve the financial performance of the division.
Within the Wireless Systems division, Novero is now fully integrated into the Connected Vehicle Solutions business and is expected to make a modest profit in 2017.
In its trading update, the company said its operational improvement programme remains on track. The programme will deliver annualised savings of at least $20 million from 2018, with $15 million expected in 2017.
Further, the company announced its proposals to raise up to 185 million pounds by way of an underwritten Rights Issue during the first quarter of 2017.
In light of the proposed Rights Issue, the Board intends that no final dividend will be paid in respect of 2016. The Board intends to resume dividends in 2017. Thereafter, consistent with the anticipated improvement in earnings and of cash generation in 2018 and beyond, and subject to prevailing market conditions, the Board expects to reduce dividend cover towards 2x over the medium term.
Separately, Laird announced that Carmen Chua will join the company in February 2017 as President of the Performance Materials Business Unit, based in Shanghai, China.
Carmen joins Laird from Avery Dennison, where she spent the last eight years, most recently as Vice President/ General Manager of the North Asia Pacific Materials Group.
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