US operation disappoints Hampson

Newly installed chief executive Norman Jordan commented: "Since joining Hampson, I have been impressed with the sheer depth of technology and the breadth of capability of our businesses as well as the professionalism and commitment of our people. While there are many steps that we can and will be taking to improve our performance, the Group's core strategy is soundly-based and well-focused with undoubted potential for growth." However, chairman Chris Geoghegan added that although the macro environment for the business was improving, it was appropriate to remain cautious and that "considerable focus continues to be placed on operational improvement initiatives". Revenue for the period was up 4% to £96m but pre-tax profit fell 91% to £1.3m compared to £14.8m for the same period last year. Although some significant contract wins left Hampson well positioned going into the second half, shortfall at Odyssey, the company's largest facility, was disappointing, said Geoghegan. The Odyssey subsidiary, part of the group's aerospace composites and transparencies business saw sales improve but has been reported to have identified a series of loss-making contracts at Odyssey, alongside problems with quotations and materials procurement. The introduction of SAP and Norman Jordan's arrival, had resulted in the identification of these issues and the company said it had moved quickly to put in place a number of corrective actions, including restructuring the local management team, deploying new processes and consolidating a number of key business support functions to deliver improved competitiveness. It has also undertaken an exercise to identify potential loss making contracts. Hampson said its SAP implementation formed a key element of the Group's internal operational improvement strategy involving the deployment of a common IT back-bone across its larger businesses. SAP only went live at the end of the first half period but the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is expected to make a significant contribution to improved operating efficiencies at Odyssey in the second half.