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Kidde weathers turbulence in aerospace unit

Joe Bolger
Thursday 06 March 2003 01:00 GMT
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Kidde says fresh defence contracts and improved performance in its residential and commercial division helped the company post positive growth in pre-tax profits for 2002, despite a heavy slide business in its aerospace division.

The 2 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £68.4m came despite a 21.3 per cent drop in profits in its aerospace, specialist and emerging markets division, which accounted for 44 per cent of divisional profits.

The fire protection and safety group said the decline in the number of new aircraft being built had contributed to a 22 per cent drop in sales in its civil aviation business to £60m. Sales in the defence business were boosted by 7 per cent to £67m as demand for military vehicles and bridges remained strong.

Michael Harper, the chief executive, said: "The aerospace industry was significantly affected so we had to do our best to offset that in the other areas of our business."

The company, therefore, concentrated efforts on its residential and commercial business, increasing profits by 38 per cent to £16.7m, on sales up 4.9 per cent to £140m. The operation, which makes fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors, saw a jump in UK sales after expanding the product range and implementing a cost cutting programme, which increased margins by 3 per cent to 11.9 per cent. Kidde shares closed yesterday up 3p at 59.5p.

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