Raymarine hints at sale

9:45 PM Mon 15 Jun 2009 GMT

'Raymarine'

Raymarine Plc, marine electronics manufacturer, released a statement yesterday in which it explained it was operating close to the limit of its current bank facilities and that it was exploring an equity fundraising or a sale of the business.

The company said it continues to trade broadly in line with market view and that the global sales in May met its expectations.

Sales remained low in the US as both original equipment manufacturers and retail channels continued to destock, and sales were slightly weaker-than-expected in the UK and rest of the world.

The company also said its banking group has shown its willingness to enter into talks related to the covenants and, if necessary, it may consider providing additional short-term funds while the medium-term funding options were investigated.

The statement said global sales in May were 'broadly in line' with expectations, but that future sales could be impacted by 'OEM downsizing or bankruptcy proceedings'.

"Subject to any such impact, the Board is expecting that destocking will come to an end in 2010 and this, together with the anticipated recommencement of production at OEMs, should support sales next year," said the statement.

Raymarine expects to report in April a pretax loss for 2009 and that the company's banking group may consider providing additional short-term funds while the medium-term funding options were investigated.

Pundits are speculating that Navico or Garmin could step up as potential buyers.
Raymarine shares closed down 14% at 17 pence on the London Stock Exchange on Friday 12 June, and declined another 11% to 15.25 pence on Monday 15 June.

by Jeni Bone