Bodycote hammers out good first quarter

FTSE 250 metals and alloys treatment firm, Bodycote, reported a good performance in the first quarter of 2012 and said it was on track to meet full year forecasts.

Revenue for the three months to the end of March was 6.9% higher than in the same period last year, the firm said.

Sales in its Aerospace, Defence & Energy division were ahead by 13.5% compared to the same period in 2011.

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The company said that automotive sales continued to improve in North America but there had been "some softness in continental Europe", although it did not give any more detail.

It added that revenues from general industrial customers remained robust, although growth rates were lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2011.

Net debt at the end of March was £20.2m, compared to net cash of £0.1m at the end of 2011, Bodycote said.

This included acquisition costs of £32.1m after the company bought Curtiss-Wright Corporation's heat treatment business at the start of April.

"Bodycote has delivered a good performance in the first quarter of 2012," the firm said.

"The board's expectations for the full year, for the business excluding the acquisition, are unchanged from the time of our full year results presentation in February."