John Menzies plc – Annual General Meeting statement
21-May-2010 At the Annual General Meeting of JOHN MENZIES PLC today, William Thomson, Chairman, will make the following statement:
The GROUP has made a positive start to the year and the Board now expects the full year result to be ahead of current market forecasts.
MENZIES AVIATION continues to perform well. The business is benefiting from its geographical spread, a focus on regional densities and significant cost reductions made last year. This has allowed the business as a whole to make progress despite significant issues such as volcanic ash, which has materially affected ground handling operations across Europe.
The portfolio outside Europe is trading well. Cargo volumes continue to be up over 20%, albeit against very weak comparators, resulting in an improvement in management expectations.
MENZIES DISTRIBUTION is performing in line with the Board's expectations and has seen no material differences in trading since the announcement of the Interim Management Statement on 26 April 2010.
Overall, the Board now expects the Group to be ahead of current market forecasts.