Elektron announces upturn and a disposal

Elektron said it continued to take a cautious view on the economy but was pleased to report that there had been a significant upturn in orders which was positive for current trading and is also expected to benefit the first few months of the next financial year. In December average daily order intake exceeded £175,000 per day which was a record for that month, representing a 74% increase on the prior year comparable figure. Much of the increase in orders arose from customer restocking but various new sales and marketing initiatives also had a part to play. The company now believes it will perform significantly better than the current market forecast for the financial year ending 31 January 2010. Elektron also announced that it would reduce the number of divisions in the Group from three to two. Elektron Technology, which designs, manufactures and markets a range of components and custom technology platforms under the Bulgin, Arcolectric and SIFAM brand names, represents about three quarters of sales and is the main source of profits. Elektron Ventures houses the remaining business units and comprises Digitron, a manufacturer of temperature and pressure measurement instruments, Queensgate, a nanomeasurement specialist, Total Carbide, a tungsten carbide component manufacturer, and Titman, a router cutter manufacturer. Elektron said the purpose of the reorganisation was to focus the Group and its management on the highest growth opportunities. Elektron said it intended to sell Hartest Holdings to the Surrey-based process instrumentation specialist Delta Controls Limited.