25 March 1999: British glassmaker Pilkington Plc said it expects full year to March 1999 pre-tax profit in line with expectations, producing “significant progress” at constant currencies but including…
25 March 1999: British glassmaker Pilkington Plc said it expects full year to March 1999 pre-tax profit in line with expectations, producing “significant progress” at constant currencies but including a 30 million pound hit on translation into sterling. In a trading statement ahead of results due in June, chief executive Paolo Scaroni said the benefits of the restructuring programmes of recent years” are now clearly visible in the group“s underlying profit performance in markets which remain challenging”. Half of the 30 million-pound figure relates to the devaluation of the Brazilian real on the value of Pilkington“s working capital in Brazil, with the rest due to currency movements in Poland and Mexico and to the strength of sterling. The company said net borrowings at the end of February were UK 650 million compared with UK 559 million at the end of March 1998, and were “in line with expectations and well within our long term credit facilities”. A net cash outflow in 1998/99 should mark the “most demanding year” at cash flow level. An expected decline in the cash costs of restructuring and the level of capital expenditure next year should benefit the overall cash position, it said.